looking forward and backward

The girls stood on the stage, dressed in white gowns, sparkling tiara's on their hairsprayed and perfectly coiffed updo's, sashes to large for their small frames slipping off of shoulders as their faces beamed to the crowd where family and friends smiled back.

The potential in each of them is endless...and in this moment you can feel that even they know it.

I watched as the girls younger looked on and imagined what it would be like to stand there just like these girls. I watched as the really little girls watched and wondered what the big deal was but knew something was special about this mysterious thing that was going on. I saw some of the older girls dust off their tiara's and bring them out for this special occasion where they could stand and look back at what that moment meant to them when it was their turn.

Personally, I never earned my tiara...it wasn't my "thing" when I was a little girl. But it is fun to watch all of these girls. Especially since I've known them all of their lives.

There are moments in ministry when you get a glimpse at how many lives you have touched and tonight I had one of those moments. I turned to Joy who was sitting next to me and mentioned that I had seen these girls grow up and she asked me if I was going to cry...no, no crying for me. She said that she might cry thinking of her own little girl being in this place for this ceremony in less than 7 yrs...time does move fast at times. I wonder how many kids have actually passed through this ministry I've invested my self into so completely the last 8 yrs? probably close to a thousand if you count the kids who were only here for a little while...that is crazy. I know I am a blip in their lives, and in some ways they were that in mine.

I can't wait to see where these girls end up. All that potential. I pray that they will always know their worth and that they won't settle for less than God's best in their lives. (the boys too of course..but girls really get told they are worthless in this world..even here in america...I hope they learn to listen to God when it comes to their worth and not the other voices that will try to tell them otherwise...I could write 100 more blogs about this topic alone I think...I'll stop now)