Dear Lydia, Turning 12 Today

My Dear Lydia,

I am writing this letter to you from Southern California, missing your birthday for the second year in a row. God has richly blessed me here in Southern California at the 2025 Shepherds Conference where I have been learning a lot from the pastors here. Even though I’m not physically present with you, please know that I have been thinking about you daily all week.

Though Mommy and I still have many challenging days with you, I am overall so thankful to God for you. You have brought me so much joy and happiness as I watch you grow and learn to trust God more. I have thoroughly enjoyed having you as part of our Friday Bible class this year. Your desire to remain attentive and diligently complete the weekly assignments shows me how much you treasure learning more about our great God. I pray that you will not just know about God but truly know Him and our Lord Jesus Christ.

I love your growing enthusiasm for cooking and helping to watch and care for your younger brother. It thrills me each time I see you play with Luke and teach him new things: geography, math, music, and Bible verses. You have served me and our entire family when we leave Luke under your supervision if we need to briefly leave the house.

You are almost a teenager, and you are growing so fast. I pray that God will help you grow in humility, flexibility, and teachability. These are lessons that I am working on myself, so it helps to grow in these areas when we are still young. When you are humble, you forget about yourself and think more about God and others. When you are flexible, even when God brings life's surprises, you can rejoice and trust in His perfect providence. And when you are teachable, you become more receptive to learning new skills and abilities and grow in godly maturity.

In Titus 2, God calls younger women to prepare to love their future husbands and children. He desires all of us to be sensible (earnest, sound). He wants you to pursue purity, dressing modestly and cultivating a heart faithfully devoted to one man, your future husband. He wants you to learn diligence, working hard at home as Mommy does, and to embrace kindness as a way of life. That means being gentle and considerate. Already, I see your gentle and considerate spirit shining through—whether you’re caring for our family or showing concern for friends and acquaintances around us.

I'm coming home in two days, and I'm bringing you a special gift. It will complement the gift I got you for your birthday last year. I love you not merely out of duty as your father, but so much more because you are my only daughter. I pray for you daily. May God continue to richly bless your life as you seek to glorify Him in all that you do.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Daddy