I Want My Daughter to Be… Herself

A big change happened for our family this past weekend—we had a baby girl! I remember at one point in the hospital, I was holding her and thinking about all the dreams I had for her. To grow up, go to school, love Jesus, play sports, get married, etc.

My Dreams

Then I paused. I recognized that all these dreams were my dreams for her. They were good things, sure, but they were my dreams. They weren’t necessarily her dreams. To find out what her dreams are, we would have to wait and see.

Be Yourself

Deep down, what I really want for my daughter is for her to be herself. I want her to walk through this life and discover who she really is—to find her own path and her own dreams.

Open Hand

It’s totally normal to have hopes and dreams for your child—I’m a new dad and I have a lot of them already. But I think we need to hold these hopes and dreams with an open hand. Our children’s dreams may not line up with our own. As parents, I think our job is to teach and train our kids, not so they can fit into a particular mold, but so they have the strength and skills to create the life they want.