Innocent Little Girls

This is Eliza's most favorite thing to do outside. She loves to play outside and wants us to get monkey bars so she can climb and flip even more. Innocence. Care-free childhood. Those are the things that I want for her. More and more I have to fight to have those things for her and be super diligent to protect those used-to-be normal little girl activities like coloring, playing with dolls, and playing school.


Just the other night, I was heart-broken to read on Facebook an exchange between two young girls about sex. By young, I mean 11 - 12 years old. They were talking about getting and having boyfriends and their ability to get and have sex with these boyfriends. It sickened me, outraged me, and made me fear for my daughter's future. These girls are still LITTLE girls in my opinion. They should be worrying if it's going to rain tomorrow and spoil their plans for wearing their favorite sandals, not bragging about what they did last night with their boyfriend. 


I am not naive enough to think that there are not girls out there who are having sex at this age, but it was shocking to see someone you know and someone who is just 3 to 4 years older than my own child. I have been vigilant about learning how to deal with these dicey tween and teen years that are coming towards me. I am currently reading a book, Six Ways to Keep the "Little" in Your Girl by Dannah Gresh. It is a fantastic book about how to protect our little girls from this sinful world. It's down-to-earth, easy to read, and completely practical on how to be a good, connecting mom. It's exactly what I was looking for to help me be ready for the things coming my way. She says in there that you need to be sure not to ever seem surprised by the things that your daughter may tell you, even though you are. That's my goal - I don't want to be surprised about what she's going to see and hear - I want her to know that I've been there and I am the wiser one who can give her direction.


But let me tell you, what I read on Facebook certainly drove me to my knees the other night. I poured out my heart to God, begging him to protect my daughter and keep her pure. I then prayed hard for the man she will marry someday - I prayed for God to protect him and keep him pure for her. There is so much at stake here. Sex is such a good and wonderful gift that God designed to be shared by a husband and a wife. It breaks my heart to see it mistreated and abused and made into something bad and evil. It frightens me to think of what Eliza will see and hear from girls at school about sex. It makes me even more sure that I want to be careful about what she's watching on TV, reading in books, and listening to in her music. I want to soak her in the Word of God, so that she can stand firm against a culture that seeks to devour and destroy her. 


This is an area where my "Mama Bear" instincts come growling out. I am adamant about standing up for letting kids be kids!!! Let them play on the play ground, let them use their imaginations, let them be young and innocent for as long as possible. So don't tease my daughter about having a boyfriend, because she doesn't. She's just a little girl . . . .and I'm hoping to keep it that way.