My Sweet Baby Girl

Enough

My Sweet Baby Girl, my cherished, beloved,

How I prayed God would send me you,

The first time I met you, I knew I had found
A love that's relentless and true.

The night you were born, 

I held you to my heart.

I couldn't stop staring;

You were perfect, every part.

Your light brown lashes spilled

Over the top of your cheeks.

Your lips smacked and puckered

And your blue eyes only peeked

At this new world around you,

Which must have been so strange.

But now you're part of it,

Becoming more so, as you age.

My baby girl, you're almost a woman,

Getting attention from young men.

We knew this day was coming,

We just wish we could dictate when.

And I've failed you  horribly, sweet daughter,

I realized this last night.

I've asked God to forgive me,

And I also ask that you might.

You see, last night, I watched you

Prepare excitedly for your date.

I saw your anticipation in getting ready,
And I feared you'd come home late.

I saw you in front of the mirror,
Assessing how you looked,
Trying so hard to be what he wanted,
Your knowledge gained from magazines, movies, and books.

Your eyelashes were extended,
Heavy, dark, and fake.
Your lips were colored, full, and plump,
You looked stunning, and my heart ached.

I realized in that moment,
That you'd become what I had prepped.
You see, since you were little,
"You're beautiful," is what I said.

"So smart, and funny, and charming!
I love how kind you are!"
I gave you compliments and put-ups
To try to show how loved you are.

And while all those things are so, so true,
Now you want those things to be said by men.
And while those compliments are extremely nice,
They don't matter at all, in the end.

What I should have constantly told you,
In the beginning, since before you could talk,
Was that you, my beautiful gift from God,
Are made to be enough.

No matter how pretty God made you,
No matter the brains in your head,
No matter the talents and treasures you have,
Know you can't earn a love, instead.

Try your best to be like him Him,
Not the men that you will meet.
Not the friends that come and go in your life,
Not even the person above your feet.

Baby Girl, you were made in His image,
So that means that you have beauty throughout,
But one thing I want to make sure you know
Is that you can do without

All that stuff that I've always told you.
It was said without thought, off the cuff.
Don't try to be want the world thinks it wants,
Because, sweet baby girl, you're enough.

You're enough, right now, to deserve a love
That will sweep you off your feet.
No amount of makeup, or actions, or thought
Can make that kind of love more sweet.

Because the love that you are seeking,
When you find it, will be a reflection of Him.
It will be compassionate, kind, and patient,
Full of passion and humor, contentment and whim.

Nothing you do and no way you act
Will make your true love, love you less.
Your beauty and humor and charm and your brain:
If you lost them, it'd make you no less

Of a person who deserves everything:
All the treasures that I can think of.
But, my sweet baby girl, you can't earn all those things,
And I hope you won't want to...

Because you're enough.