Sep

19

Our Responsibility to Our Daughters

September 19, 2008 |

I ended up lecturing my best friend today.  I didn’t mean to; it just came out that way.

The topic was daughters.

Mine is in first grade and growing up way too fast.  His is about to be born (his first child).

Somehow we had been on the subject of getting teenagers to wait to have sex.  He started talking about “THE TALK” he plans to have with his in utero little girl, twelve or thirteen or fourteen years from now. 

It was at this point that I jumped in.

I told him that his “talk” began as soon as his baby girl leaves the security of his wife’s womb.  His “talk” begins in how he treats his daughter; what kind of bond he builds with her; how he treats his wife; what kind of role model he exhibits.

I am fully aware that my little girl will base every relationship she has with other men/boys on her relationship with me and my relationship with her mother.  I am her role model on how a man treats a woman.

I want to get to a point with her where her self-esteem is sky-high when she is around other boys/men; that she knows enough to respect herself as a daughter of God and her body as a divine gift; that she is mindful enough to respect other boys/men as sons of God, even when they do not share the same respect for themselves; that she knows and has had fully demonstrated to her each and every day that the only true, mature, intimate, divine relationship between a man and a woman takes place within a marriage covenant blessed and called by God.

I have to answer to God at some point in time for my daughter.  If she turns out to be anything less than what God intends, I’m going to have some explaning to do.

I’ve given a lot of thought to my responsibility to my daughter.  I guess I wanted to let my friend in on what he is getting himself into.  He’s a good man; I know he’s going to do a good job.  But a good job isn’t good enough in today’s world.  It takes an effort worthy of the saints.  We are all up to it; but we have to want to do it, each and every day.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. largebill on September 20, 2008 5:00 pm

    “I have to answer to God at some point in time for my daughter. If she turns out to be anything less than what God intends, I’m going to have some explaning to do.”

    While I agree with your point/lecture in theory, having a teenage daughter I’m constantly afraid I’ll have some explaining to do and will have no explanation to offer. You do your best, but at some point you have to allow them to exercise free will and pray they use good judgment. However, kids grow up and make their own choices and even with the best of parenting some will screw up. I’m one of nine kids and we were all raised by the same parents and all turned out differently.

    Good luck raising yours, I have to go say a prayer for mine about to head out to a homecoming dance. Yikes! :-)

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