my pinky promise to you

Dear Maliyah,

Since falling in love with you eight years ago, I have had time to dream up some pretty big desires I have for you.

I want you to find a hobby that you love and wholeheartedly pursue it.

I want you to have a passion for adventure, so that as you grow we can continue to experience the world together.

I want you to go to college and pursue a degree that you feel God has placed on your heart.

I want you to find a steady job that will make your days full of purpose.

I want you to live in Colorado forever.

I want you to love learning, obsess over education, and be successful in school.

I want you to find a man that will love God first and love you second.

I want you to have healthy children that become your world.

I have this extravagant plan of how your life could turn out, and I pray for these things.

But as time has gone on and with the challenges you continue to throw our way, I simply can’t help but reevaluate my prayers for you.

Do I want you to love adventure? Yes. Is that at the core of what I want most for you? No. Instead, I pray that you simply find a passion in this world that captures your heart and pursue it.

Do I want you to live in Colorado forever? Yes. Is that at the core of what I want most for you? No. Instead, I pray you are obedient to His voice.

Do I want you to get good grades, go to college, and graduate? Yes. Is that at the core of what I want most for you? No. Instead, I pray you are His hands and feet. That you love the unlovable. That you help build His kingdom.

There are so many things I want for you and envision for you, but because I know your life is not mine, because I don’t get to make the decisions for you, it is time to give them up. Not to stop praying for them, but to stop making them my focus.

Instead, I need to hold onto one completely engulfing and encapsulating wish, dream, and prayer.

That you would know you are loved by your family, loved by your Father, and that you would love your Father with all of your heart.

You may not go to college. You may not get good grades. You may never get married or have kids. You may never love adventure. You may move to another state. You may never have a steady job. But in the grand scheme of things, I just don’t care.

What I want is for you to know you are loved and to love Him in return.

Because at the end of the day, if those two things are true for you, you will live a blessed and fruitful life. No matter how you choose to live, it will be one with Him at the center.

Because a life lived without Him, is not one worth living.

Tonight you asked me if I pinky promise to pray for you every day.

I answer this with a resounding and most passionate yes and shake of the pinky.

I promise to everyday pray these words, “Father, thank you for Maliyah and who she is. Thank you for placing her in my life. I pray that she would know how much we love her, how much You love her, and that she would love You with all of her heart.”

All my love,

Sissy