Uh-oh.....

They were crawling around the side of the blue-faded sandbox that Nanny had found at a yard sale. She was talking so sweetly to them. I listened intently as she called them her friends.

The evening was beautiful! Sitting outside on our patio, I was reading (or at least trying to read) "A Place of Quiet Rest" by Nancy Leigh Demoss (sounds like I'm joking, right?). Little boys running everywhere...writing with sidewalk chalk....sliding down the big slide and scaring Momma...talking constantly. You can imagine the chaos! Big brother and Daddy practicing baseball before his game with the Rockies tonight. I soaked in the moment. Soft breezes blowing and hinting that rain was coming, Anna asked over her shoulder, "Mom, what are these tiny red bugs called?" Uh oh..... "Honey, it sounds like chiggers." "Awww, mom....they were my friends!" You could hear the shear disgust in her voice.

Nanny came around the corner. "Nan, are chiggers tiny and red?" I asked. "I believe so...yeah, they are." Uh oh.

Luckily, Anna didn't hang out with them a moment longer! ;)

It kinda brought me to a future, more serious concern...what will her friends be like? In her sheltered, little life here in our small hometown....will she have discernment? Will she choose wisely those that she emotionally embraces?

The chigger incident wasn't really dangerous. But it sure would have been aggravating! They like to 'bed up in your skin' and hang on! And the afterward itch......ewwww! Yeah, the wrong kind of relationships/habits/lifestyles can do that to someone.

The momma in me wants to shield her and protect my curly girl from any such incident. But I know, deep down in my heart, that ultimately the decision is hers. She will have to live with those choices.....good or bad. I can warn, worry and lecture...or I can pray. I can teach her by example and keep her heartstrings tied close to mine. And then, release her future into His hands.

I'm wondering right now....when she brings him home to us (May I remind you that she said a thousand times "I'm NOT getting married! I'm staying home to live with you, Momma...always."?) What will my first words...or thoughts be? Hopefully, it won't be...Uh oh.