A Weekend With Someone Very Special

I started thinking about Lucy’s 13th birthday right after she turned 12. I knew her transition into being a teenager would be monumental in her life and ours. I wanted to do something to make her feel loved, special and beautiful, as well as create some type of rite of passage that would recognize this new stage of her life in a positive way. I began to pray that the Lord would show me how to do this. 

 A few weeks ago some dear friends offered to let us stay in their beach home in La Jolla. I immediately praised the Lord for His provision and started to plan our “mother-daughter” weekend. With what I had planned for the weekend, there was still quite a bit of time left unscheduled. As we crossed the border Friday morning, I found myself a little anxious about what we were going to do with that unscheduled time. I silently prayed that the Lord would orchestrate our weekend. In that moment I felt in my spirit that I was to let Lucy decide how and where we spent our time. 

I am glad I got that gentle nudge from the Lord, because Lucy’s choice for our afternoon on Friday would not have been mine. After a nice lunch and picking up some starter pieces of make-up at Target, we spent hours and hours at the mall (one of my least favorite places on the planet). From the challenge of shopping for a cute, hip, and modest blouse, to testing every candy at the Sweet Factory before buying two pounds of our favorites, to smelling each fragrance at Bath and Body… we both had a blast.

Later that evening God displayed His glory with a spectacular sunset over the Pacific while we ate our gourmet, frozen pizza and took photos. The next day we met Lucy’s friend, Elise and her mom, Jannet, for lunch and pedicures. Then we headed down to the La Jolla Cove where we spent the rest of our afternoon being tourists. 

Spending this weekend with Lucy was as important for me as it was for her. With all that comes with raising a teenage girl, I needed to be reminded of what an amazing young woman God is creating. I tell Lucy all the time that if I were her age, I would choose her as my best friend. That’s how much I value the person she is. However, I also know that right now she needs a mom more than a friend. Granted, it would be easier to step out of the heat that comes with being mom to be her friend. But this weekend left me encouraged; I’m willing to wait for God to orchestrate that friendship in His timing, and I know that one day it will be a beautiful one.