Mother-Daughter Date

This past year I made a serious point to take opportunities to take my daughter on dates. I picked up a devotional just for mother-daughter dates. It is called Secret Keeper Girl 8 Great Dates for you and Your Daughter by Dannah Gresh. We have been on three dates thus far. Each one focuses on a certain theme or topic. Each one has been great fun. I am so blessed to be able to share them with a loving daughter. Here is a sneak peak inside one of those great dates....

This dates theme was titled "The Source of Beauty". The challenge for this one was to find a quiet place to have with God. This particular one I had put off too long because I was trying to find the perfect place. I kept thinking the beach or a nature walk. I finally shared my predicament with a fellow homeschool mom. She shared with me about a local hike that her family had recently been on. I wasn't familar with it but was game for exploring it.

It was a 1.4 uphill hike in the local foothills which led up to a cross that someone had erected about four years ago. The hike was intense due to the heat of the day and did I mention it was all uphill. Just imagine being on a stair stepper for 1.4 miles and you may get the picture.

So many times Dancer just wanted to turn around and go back. It was just too much. I kept encouraging her and told her that it would pay off in the end, if she just hung on to it. The talks that we shared along the way about hardships, trials and things that she may face later on in life were used with that hike as a metaphor. It was just the perfect place to be just her and I that day.

After climbing and taking frequent breaks to refuel with our water we finally reached the top only to discover we needed to travel up another small incline. Both of us were tired. I wasn't giving up and she just was ready to throw in the towel. One last thing I shared with her helped her to trudge on. What I shared with her was from the book Pilgrim's Progress. After Christian had traveled the long path he still needed to pass through the river to make it to the Celestial City. I told her to imagine that this was her river and that the Celestial City was just on the other side. I might add that all during our hike that day we hadn't at that point seen the cross yet.....

Once she and I hiked up that last ridge we finally saw the cross. Oh what a site to see and of the valley below. The view was just gorgeous. So worth the 1.4 trek up there. I know the cross isn't beautiful but it is what it represents that is important. This place will always have a special place in my heart for the valuable life lessons that I got to share with my daughter. She will always remember to fix her eyes on the cross even through lifes challenges.