Draw Nearer

Dear Karah,
Last night you were upset - telling me you didn't want to go to art class today because the two boys you are assigned to sit with - tease you. I emailed your teacher today and she said that she would move you and that the boys tease you because they have a crush on you. While I know this is true....I want to make sure that I raise you to know that boys who truly like you will be kind to you.

As a young girl, I don't want you to grow up believing that if someone "likes" you - it's okay for them to treat you poorly. There will always be boys that like how you look.....lots of boys. Then there will be boys who get to know you and like WHO you are.....they will not only know you are beautiful, they will know that you are smart, funny, kind to others, talented, and witty. The boys who like "who" you are will respect you....they will be kind to you....they will make you feel good about yourself - and never belittled or sad.

Lots of girls grow up being told that when boys like you they are mean to you. They come to accept it and some even seek out "mean" boys when they are old enough to date. They feel "liked" by them, after all. Some of these girls end up marrying these boys and find out that their behavior doesn't change. Those boys grow into boyfriends and husbands and still show their "love" by being degrading, sarcastic, unkind, and sometimes abusive.

I want you to remember this guy when you date. Remember how he has always treated you and me....with love, tenderness, and kindness...always building us up and making us feel better about ourselves.

Don't settle for someone who wants your attention because you are beautiful. There is so much more to you than your appearance. Hold out for the one who wants your attention because he knows YOU are worth having and keeping.


President Hinckley said, "I have never forgotten my father's tenderness toward my mother. She died when she was fifty, a relatively young woman. During the months of her illness he was constantly solicitous for her comfort. But this attitude was not expressed only after she became ill. It had been evident to us, their children, throughout our lives. In the happy home of our childhood, we knew-and that came of a feeling and not of any declaration- that they loved, respected, and honored one another. What a blessing that image has been. When we were children we felt a certain security because of it. As we grew older our thoughts and our actions were colored by that remembered example."

You are a daughter of God. As you grow older you will come to know and accept your divinity and I pray that the love your Daddy and I have will "color your thoughts and actions".

"No man can please his Heavenly Father who fails to respect the daughters of God. No man can please his Heavenly Father who fails to magnify his wife and companion, and nurture and build and strengthen and share with her." - Gordon B. Hinckley
("To Please Our Heavenly Father", Ensign, May 1985).

Stick with the boys that treat you like Daddy. He loves you.....purely.

I love you....completely.

Love,
Da Mama Bear