Pretty girl!

This is my brother-in-law and his precious daughter Maggie! He and his wife Kari and their two children joined my husband and me, along with two of our good friends Glenn and Gail at Disney World this past week to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary! Maggie does the cutest thing when she sees herself in the mirror she smiles and says, "pretty girl!" I smiled to myself and thought how priceless this gift of good self esteem is to Maggie! This will help her the rest of her life!
One reason she has this healthy and valid self image is because that is what her wonderful daddy calls her! I got to watch as Keith would call to her, talk with her, and validate her again and again throughout the week. She would look at him, gain eye contact, seek affirmation, he would respond "Hi Maggie, you're my pretty girl!" Other times he'd simply say "pretty girl!" to her when their eyes would meet! How simple, how inexpensive, but yet how important and essential to every female alive, women need: #1. Security and #2. Good Self Esteem! If only every daddy knew how important this is and how easy to teach to their darling daughter, their "pretty girl!"
Daddies, tell your daughters often that she is just fine the way she is. Tell and teach her that God created her with strengths and abilities! Validate her self esteem and core identity! She'll know she's not perfect, she won't become conceited, she will gain confidence and thus be able to experience joy as she grows and works on her own weaknesses. She will have that inner confidence and knowledge that even if she's not perfect, no one is. She won't be dependent on anyone else to make her feel good about herself, because she has grown to know she is just fine the way she is.
Low self esteem among women is pervasive and cuts across all socioeconomic lines. It can invariably communicate that the victim is worthless. Many women endure verbal abuse and allow their self esteem to be destroyed. The results can lead to depression and anxiety as well as relationship problems. If wives feel their needs aren't being met by their partner because they feel like they don't deserve to have them met, their relationship can suffer. They can also have difficulty disciplining and setting limits or demanding the respect they deserve.
Fathers are truly a gift and an ambassador to their children, an ambassador and a model of God's love! Fathers AND mothers can give their children a priceless gift of good and healthy self-esteem by continually giving positive affirmation over and over to their children!
Every little girl and every big girl and then woman deserves to be nurtured and empowered with true positive self image and self esteem. Jesus himself modeled respect for women over and over. He showed respect for the shamed woman at the well just by speaking to her and allowing her to draw him a drink from that well. He then affirmed her and challenged her to go and sin no more and tell others what happened there. She did! One act of kindness and one verbal affirmation and she turned her life of sin around, ran to tell others and brought them to Jesus! Father's, how powerful and priceless is your gift you can give your daughter, instill in her that SHE IS your precious, priceless, God created, gifted, amazing, valuable, worthy of respect and honor, "pretty girl!"
I am so thankful that God blessed me with a wonderful "Daddy" who gave me repeated verbal affirmation and encouragement. I am thankful now for an amazing husband who continues to praise and honor me and my daughter with positive words and acts. I am thankful that despite my imperfections, I know my creator and He made me! He is honored and glorified when I have a positive self image and I am then empowered to do what it is He has for me to do!
Let's hear it for all "pretty girls!"