Proud Mommy Moment

Indulge me, 

will you?

We have three amazing children.

Young people now, really.

The one I talk most about 

is the one I spend the most time

with....that girl of mine.

Chelsea.

Chelsea has gone through 

two years that have been the hardest

in her life and in ours.

Anorexia was the enemy.

It was awful!

There is no other way to put it.

Anorexia sneaks in and hijacks

relationships, lifestyles and happiness.

Well, it tries to do that.

Sometimes the people involved are

stubborn enough to resist.

We are pretty stubborn.

But even so

we endured a very hard and 

very stressful couple of years.

But, the one who had it the 

hardest was Chelsea.

She had to learn to eat again.

She had to learn to accept the body

that her DNA and Creator

provided her.

Chelsea had to learn to fill the 

emotional needs for love and acceptance

with her Heavenly Father.

To look outward and reach to minister to others.

She endured being let go from a job 

because they thought she was not 

outgoing and confident enough

to handle a Summer Ice Cream rush.

Can I insert here that upon 

receipt of her driver's license this 

was one of the first places she drove

by herself just to say hello

and show how strong and outgoing

she has become.

While I wanted to send a scathing 

letter to that former employer telling 

them what I thought of their heartless

treatment of my girl she said no.

A year later she handled it herself 

in a way that set it all right

and left her on good footing with that 

former manager.

What.a.girl!!

Chelsea has a wonderful employer and

managers at Sight and Sound Theater.

Interestingly they have her on one of the

busiest registers and tell her all the time 

that she does

a wonderful job.

They recently asked her to work

more hours and increased her pay.

Confidence problem?

Bad employee?

I don't think so.

I have a lot I could say...

but suffice it to say that yelling and 

screaming at teenagers does not build 

their confidence.

Her former employer could take lessons

from Sight and Sound!!

The formal treatment for Anorexia is done.

Chelsea has reached her healthy weight

and more importantly has had a change of 

thought processes.

Our girl is well.

But it was an internal and spiritual change.

One that she expressed so well on an 

application for YWAM.

Yes, that is in the works.

In a little over a year our little 

girl will, Lord willing, be on a plane

headed to Australia.

She will go to Descipleship Training School

there and then off to Cambodia or Thailand

for her mission trip.

Working with girls and women

who have been rescued from slavery.

She will be gone from here

at least 5 months.

Gulp!

God has lit a fire in the heart of our

Chelsea.  She is reading, studying and learning

so much about missions, the world

and its conditions.

The contrast to our lives of one year 

ago today is amazing.

I am so very thankful!

And....as I told Chelsea yesterday...

I wouldn't trade her for ANYONE!

Nope!

She is a gem.

Made by God to be just 

who she is.

With experiences that will shape

her future.

And which provide her with 

compassion and understanding

beyond her years.

As for me....

there are bottles of hair color that 

can restore that which I have lost.

LOL

I'll be forever thankful 

that we did not lose our daughter

physically to death,

or in relationship,

during these hard times.

Praise God for His 

grace and mercy

in our lives.

We are blessed!