Last year, I took my daughter to an open gym at the local Rec Center, and while she is normally all kinds of Miss Sociable, on this particular day she screamed and cried instead of playing with the other children.
She was beside herself. I was nearly beside myself trying to figure out how to help her calm down and see what fun she could have.
I tried everything I could think of to encourage her for the next week. To get her ready. And to speak truth that she needed to hear.
And everything I came up with fell quite short.
During family worship, my husband and I read the book of Ruth out loud to the kids. And then we talked about some of the characteristics of Ruth’s faith – especially her bravery.
‘Ruth is brave’ she repeated over and over. ‘Brave like Ruth.’
The next week we went back to the open gym and tried again.
The tears started flowing. She clung to me with her tear-streamed face.
I crouched down and looked her square in the face.
I asked her who loved her the most.
Jesus.
I asked her why she was so beautiful.
Because Jesus made my heart beautiful.
And did you know that Jesus made lots of other beautiful women. Remember Ruth?
Ruth?
Remember when we talked about Ruth? Remember when talked about her beautiful heart?
Ruth.
Remember what else we told you about Ruth? Remember when we told you that she was very brave?
Brave.
Ruth was brave because Jesus made her heart beautiful and brave. Do you think you could be brave? And try this new thing?
Brave? Like Ruth?
Can you try to play with your new friends and be brave like Ruth?
And then I’d love to tell you that she happily ran off and played with her friends.
But she didn’t. She cried and cried and cried. For weeks.
It got better little by little though. And I got to talk to her more and more about being brave because that’s how God made us.
And then one day, she didn’t need me to go with her anymore. She checked in at the door and proudly told me she would be brave like Ruth and went in to play with her friends.
I am fascinated by the women in the Bible and love learning about them. And I love that they are just like me – sinners in need of much grace – and because of that grace are willing vessels for God’s plan.
I want to be a willing vessel for God’s plan. And I want to teach my daughter to do the same.
So as I read books about the women in the Bible, I’m so glad that now my daughter can do the same.
For Such a Time as This is a Bible-story book covering the women of the Bible. There are 40 stories in this book, each with beautiful art work and well-crafted stories for the young hearts. There is also a He, Me, and She section at the end of each story – what we learn about God’s character from the story (He), characteristics that were exemplified in the story and what I can learn more about growing (Me), and a scripture-based prayer for parents that goes along with the story (She).
This book is a treasure and I’m so excited to have this resource to share with my daughter.
What do you do or use to teach your daughters about the women in the Bible? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!
**I was sent a copy of For Such a Time as This by Family Christian bookstore to review. This review is my own opinion.**
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