Message to My Kids

I stayed up and watched the Oscars Sunday night. I don’t know why, but I love the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s awards night. I usually haven’t seen many of the movies nominated (this year I’d seen Frozen and Gravity), but I enjoy watching. I love the pageantry and beauty of a life so far from my own.

As I watched this year’s show, I was wowed by the composers of Frozen who won for Best Original Song for “Let It Go.” Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez gave a fairly typical speech until they got to the end. Then, this is what they said: “Our girls, Katie and Annie, our song is inspired by our love for you in the hope that you never let fear and shame keep you from celebrating the unique people that you are. Thank you, we love you.”

This couple were on the biggest stage of their careers. They will probably never again have as many people watching and listening to them as they did on Sunday night. And they used that moment to send a message to their kids. They used that platform to tell their kids one of the most important things any kid can ever hear — you are unique, and you should celebrate it.

As I watched them and applauded their choice, I was struck by the fact that we all have a platform — some are big like the Oscar stage, others are smaller like being a mom. No matter the size of our platform, though, we can use it to send our kids a message. We can use it to encourage our kids to be themselves. We can us it to remind our kids that God created them in His image (Genesis 1:27) and that makes them unique. It makes them special. It makes them beautiful.

So, today, on my little platform here, I want to say this to my kids:

You are beautiful.

You are strong.

You are two of the best things in my life.

You are loved by both God and your parents.

You are hand-picked by the King to fill a role in His plan.

You have skills and talents that no one else has.

You have a personality that makes you uniquely you.

You are unique and should never hide who you are just because someone else doesn’t like it.

You are the daughter of a King.

You are created in God’s image.

You bring joy to my life.

You are amazing.

Our kids need to hear encouraging words from us. They need to know that we think they are unique and special. They need to know that we have their backs. They need to know that standing out from the crowd is OK. They need to know that being the unique creation that God made them to be is way more important than fitting in with the crowd.

And they need us to shout these words from whatever platform we have. So use the printable (click on the picture above) of these words to share with your kids. Post it around your house. Shout it from your platform. Let your kids know how you feel. Because we can never spend too much time encouraging our kids to simply be who God created them to be.

Do you like what you read here? Check out my book Everyday Truth: Teaching your kids about God in life’s everyday moments. You’ll find practical ways to grab those everyday moments and turn them into teachable ones.