Final Reflections…Those Girls Have Grown

On February 13, 2009, I wrote My Very First Post on Girls to Grow.

Our daughters were eight and six years old, in the middle of their second grade and K5 years of school. I’d recently started reading blogs, and since I’ve always enjoyed writing, I decided I’d give blogging a try.

1,286 posts later, I’m sifting through the memories and boxing up the words as I bring an end to Girls to Grow.

Our daughters are 24 and 22 years old now, married to wonderful young men, working and learning and making their mom and dad proud on a daily basis.

By God’s grace, those girls we wanted to grow have grown. We homeschooled and Christian-schooled, depending on the year. We sat through soccer games, basketball games, cheer competitions, piano recitals, choir and band concerts, fine arts festivals, plays, and graduations.

From Sunday morning services to Wednesday night youth group, we were blessed to be a part of a church family. We had a junior year of high school and a freshman year of college cut short because of COVID-19. We’ve sent them off to summer camps and enjoyed family vacations, smiled through tears at college drop-offs, engagements, and weddings.

In looking back, there’s heartfelt gratitude for the people who poured into our kids. The Sunday School teachers, the coaches, the pastors, the Christian school teachers, the parents of their friends – they’re part of who our girls are today.

Then there’s my husband. He’s been the rock in our family, the no-nonsense and no-drama guy the three of us girls need, the one with great wisdom and faith who led – and continues to lead – us so well.

If I’ve learned anything while writing here, it’s that God, His Word, and prayer are the hope and strength we need when it comes to parenting our children. There were rocky teen years, moments of self-doubt and “are we doing this right?” and “will she make it through this?”

It’s not great parenting that makes great kids. Yes, we try our best to follow Biblical principles and love and invest in our precious children. But ultimately, it’s a great God who is gracious in spite of our mistakes, who hears and answers prayers, and who loves those girls more than we do.

Our nest is now officially empty. We’re enjoying this season of life together as husband and wife, grateful that our daughters and son-in-laws live nearby and we can see them often.

And now, as I close the doors here, I’m opening another one. I still want to write, to hopefully encourage and walk alongside other women who want to flourish in faith and family.

So very soon I’ll begin blogging at TraceyBrewer.com. I hope you’ll join me there. (If you pop over there any time soon, it’s a hot mess, aka a work in progress 🙂

In the meantime, if you’d like to sign up for my emails, I’ll be sharing more details on how you can receive regular updates when I begin publishing posts on my new site.

And just to be clear, Girls to Grow will continue to live here on the Internet for a while; you can still read and share old posts. I just won’t be adding any new content after today.

Finally, I’m very thankful for all of those who’ve read and commented here over the years. I’ve gotten sweet encouragement from many of you, and I’m so grateful. Wherever you are in growing your girls, your boys, your family, may God richly bless you.

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;

That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. ~Philippians 1:9-11