As we've watched our kids grow over the past few years, we knew that a time was coming when they would pare down their activities and focus on only a couple. A few months ago, Karoline decided that she wanted to dance. Not being a great dancer, she had a lot of work to do in preparation for the tryouts that came a couple of days ago. So, she doggedly went after it. I bought some wood so the multi-purpose room in our house could also receive the role of dance studio, and every time Karoline had any free time, she was in there. She stretched, worked and anticipated the upcoming tryouts.
The dance team that she wanted to be a part of isn't church-league softball, where everyone gets to play. The tryouts are real, and historically, some girls don't make it. At the beginning of the summer (months away from tryouts), I realized the urgency of instilling identity and value into her. Yes, it's something I've always prioritized as a dad, but it was time to turn the volume up on that. Therefore, the summer was filled with "daddy-daughter time" and a constant flow of words from me telling her how valuable she is, how beautiful she is, and how special God created her.
I did all of those things anticipating the very real possibility of Karoline experiencing rejection. As it turns out, she made the team. However, I'm going to keep the volume up on building into my daughter because I know that rejection is inevitable. There will be boys and teams and "friends" that will challenge her view of herself. When (not if) rejection comes, I hope she lays in bed at night knowing who she really is. I'm doing more than hoping for that, I'm working for that.
