Proud of God

So, like I said in an earlier post, Karoline made the performance dance team.  I learned later on that she was a "Level 2" dancer.  That means she isn't as good as the "Level 3" dancers.  While never complaining, I knew it bothered her.  Her cousins and friends were all "Level 3".  She worked hard...stretching and dancing in most of her free time.

Then, one afternoon she got the message.  She was being moved up.  Promoted.  She improved to "Level 3".  She now dances with her friends and cousins.

What's so interesting to me is how she responded.  Feeling great about what had happened, but not wanting to fall victim to pride, she weighed her words and with a huge smile on her face, she told me she was "proud of God" for allowing her to move up.

That "proud of God" comment...dang.  That chokes me up.

Preparing For The Inevitable

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.

Assessing Things

Right now, at this season of life, Karoline is showing a lot of interest in my role as a pastor. It's an absolute joy for me. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm going to enjoy it while I can. Recently, she picked up my Bible, looked at all the tabs I have stuck in there, and asked what they meant, why they were colored the way they were, and how I prepare to teach each week.

She also was recently selected to the praise team at her school. The very first time she was scheduled to sing in their chapel service, I was scheduled to speak. Leading that service together was a GREAT daddy/daughter moment, and that only added to the interest in "what I do".

As she continued to reflect on me and my role, she spoke up the other night and said, "Daddy, as I think about it, I think you are the 5th most important person in our church. Pastor Matt is first, Mrs. Cheryl (our children's minister) is second, Mrs. Laura (our preschool minister) is third, and Mr. Mark (our student minister) is fourth. If it wasn't for them, there would be nobody at our church." Then she said, "Now that I think about it, you are probably behind that new college guy (Brad Lewter, who isn't even here yet) too."

Karoline is more than correct, and I'm thankful to even break the top 10. I appreciate the way she thinks, and I appreciate being part of a great team of people my kids look up to.