Shopping With Daughters

I don't know if it is harder to raise godly daughters right now, or godly sons. Having both at home, it seems to me that I would like to hide all of them away until God wipes out the mess around us and starts over with something pure. Then I could send them out into the world, knowing they would be safe, that it could be faily easy to make good choices. But that would be Heaven, wouldn't it?  We're not there just yet.  So, in the meantime, God, give me wisdom and discernment.

I took the girls out shopping the other day. They'd been begging for a chance to spend the money they had saved on some new clothes. I'd been putting them off, partly because I hate the thought of trying to help them find something... decent. I remember when they had moved out of sixe 6X. I was devastated. This meant that it was time to start navigating through the world of "Diva Star" t-shirts and other clothing apparently meant for godesses. Last I heard, there was only one Center of the Universe, and He doesn't go shopping. Life in the mall wasn't going to be sweet and safe anymore. Okay, it never was, but... it was going to be worse.

As we walked from rack to rack and store to store, they kept looking at me saying, "Seriously?"  I was grateful that I didn't have to tell them "no."  I could see that God had been working on refining their own navigation systems.  They were feeling a little underwhelmed at the choices. There was a dull, glazed-over look on their faces.  I was glad.  There wouldn't be any $80 jeans, no pink shirts with skulls and hearts (why am I even seeing these?), nothing that looked painted on, and they weren't overly concerned with spending ALL of their money.  We left with a couple of cute things for each of them and most of their money still in their pockets. 

I don't mean to over-spiritualize this shopping trip, but I had peace. Peace knowing that they were content with something simple. Peace that their hearts were longing for something good instead of something flashy. Peace that our Father God is sovereign and that He is faithful in moulding and building a sense of beauty into our children in a world that is often harsh and shallow.