A Letter to My Daughter on Her 13th Birthday

Dearest Lydia,

Thirteen years ago today, you changed everything. I still remember holding you for the first time, so small and so fragile. When you were just one year old, Mommy and I sat in a neurologist’s office in Oakland, worried and praying, because you were too weak to walk. But you fought through it. A few years later, you let us know in no uncertain terms that you were not happy about preschool. It was not easy, but that same fierce spirit, when pointed in the right direction, is one of the things I love most about you. Now here you are: thirteen, strong, and full of a life God has been shaping since before you were born.

I am so grateful that God has saved you. Of all the prayers I have prayed for you, this is the one that matters most, that you would know Him, belong to Him, and walk with Him all the days of your life. Because you are His child, I trust that He will guide every other part of your life. His hand has been on you from the beginning, and I believe He has purposes for you that are greater than either of us can imagine.

And as your father, I want to partner with what God is doing in you. For as long as God gives me breath, my promise to you is this: I will love you, pray for you, and do everything I can to help you become the woman of God He created you to be. That fierce spirit God gave you is not an accident. I believe He put it there on purpose, and I cannot wait to see what He does with it. Thirteen is just the beginning, Lydia. Your story is still being written.

I love you more than words can say, and I am so proud of the young woman you are becoming. Happy Birthday, my Lydia.

Dad