Acorns

"In you is a great oak. Just be the tree God made you to be." Aunty Mary Jane read to the girls this morning from Max Lucado's "Little Acorn."  She smiled at them as she read to the acorns in front of her, girls who cannot imagine the powerful impact they are to have on their world as young women.
The ten girls who spent the night started attending Beautiful Me with their mothers in October 2016.  Friday night we had our finale, ending with a talent show, a showing of "One Night With the King," and a lot of giggling as they tried hard to keep each other awake late into the night.

I saw beautiful glimpses of the "oaks" in each of them as they presented our theme songs, enacted "Gertrude McFuzz" by Doctor Seuss, a dance to "Gold" by Brit Nicole, some original writing, and memory verses pertaining to our theme of true beauty. They sang the songs confidently, dancing, and shining all the way for the small group who had come to celebrate with them.  Most of this group came from our office, and they gathered around our little acorns, with their arms on their shoulders, like "sheltering trees" from the song, "We all need sheltering trees, friends in our lives who get down on their knees, lift us up before the king of kings...we all need sheltering trees." (Newsong)  As they prayed for them I sensed a great strength filling the room, and a revealed weakness in me, an acknowledgement that I cannot change, inspire, or fill these girls with what they need to grow into great oaks.  Only God can do that, and though he may use me and Aunty Mary Jane, they need many sheltering trees in their lives, including their mothers.

As we end Beautiful Me with this group, a program intended to bring mothers and daughters closer, I had hoped that the mothers would attend this optional talent show, but only one "mother" (actually a grandmother) came.  And oh, that one mother blesses me so. (See post She came to Beautiful Me  )

Please, be sheltering trees for these girls now, as you read.  Pray, pray that God will instill in them a desire to be His, that their mothers will learn to treasure them and hold them gently while training them to be strong. May these acorns become a "planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor" in this land.  (Isaiah 61:3)