A sandy-haired boy with deep ocean blue eyes and a strong stature, coyly sits. He reminds me of a young David in the Bible; fearless, handsome, and loveable. His emotions dangle off his sleeves as he lives his life in extremes. Hate and love are often on his lips… as he either disdains something or can’t imagine life without it. This boy, a warrior at heart, filled with passion and emotion is my son, Jayden.

My son has always been a natural born leader… Some call these attributes strong-willed. :) It depends on what paintbrush you grab, or what lens you view it through. His candle is bright, and his presence is unhidden. Each day he is being molded and shaped; crafted with God’s hands through time and experience, knowledge and love. As I look at my sweet boy, I am motivated to grow, to learn truth, to live out truth, to abandon excess baggage in myself so I can guide him with a clear mind and heart. His eyes are watching, and emulating everything to the umpteenth degree, because whatever he does, he does big and loud… Because his roar is meant to be heard.

Do you know you’re beautiful, Ms. Isabella? We, as women, sometimes question our worth, our beauty… We seek admiration by the way we dress, the way we talk, the choices we make. We want so bad to feel loved. Our heart cries for this attention, and when we don’t receive it, we criticize ourselves as though we didn’t reach the standard that we needed to achieve. We question if we are of value. Well, sweet child, I pray this is not a vice for you. I pray you know you don’t measure your worth with these shifting scales. You are beautiful… Because you are YOU.