Mothers and Daughters

I did not write on here on mothers day like I wanted to. I kept putting it off until now. I just got done reading Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk in the May conference issue of the Ensign. His talk was titled Mothers and Daughters. He talked about mothers to teach their daughters the way of the gospel not of the world. He talked about daughters to model after their mothers not celebrities. As I read on I couldn't help but start to cry, knowing that Ava is going to go through all that awful high school mess. My sweet little girl who fake coughs when someone else coughs. Who laughs so hard when you sneak up on her. Who gets so excited when daddy walks in the door. She is going to have to worry about "fitting in" and "if shes pretty enough" When I think back on my high school experience (ha it was like 2 years ago, I talk like I'm so old) I know I couldn't have done it with out my mom. In middle school I would sit on the edge of my bed and just cry because I thought I was fat and ugly. Every single time, my mom would sit right there with me to tell me how beautiful I was. She was by my side for every hard time. She always defended me, encouraged me, taught me what was right and always reminded me that I was the girl who was going to make the right choice. Elder Ballard spoke on how daughters are just like their mothers. "If the mothers are thrify so are the daughters. If the mothers are modest, so are the daughters. If the mother is wearing flip flops to sacrament meeting so are the daughters." When I read that I couldn't help but tear up again. Ava is going to look up to ME. Gosh that scares me so bad. While she is a teen I don't want her to be how I was. I don't want her to look in the mirror and feel ugly like I did. I don't want her to stress about boys, girlfriends or school dances. I don't want her to go through any of that. I want her to know that she IS the most beautiful girl in the world, I want her to know that she is an amazing creation from Heavenly Father and he loves her so much! She needs to know that there is so much more out there than celebrities and the latest trends. She needs to know that she is going to make an amazing wife and mother. The fact that I am the one teaching her all of this and so much more really scares me. How can I teach her to be so confident with herself when I'm not confident with myself? How can I teach her to love what she sees in the mirror when I know I didn't? I have to make a change now while shes still young. I have to love myself and only worry about what Christ thinks of me. I want to be there for Ava just like my mom was for me. I know Ava is going to be so much stronger than I was. She is closer to the last days, Heavenly Father knows that she is can take it. It's my job to just point her on the right path.

If you are a mother or a daughter I strongly suggest reading Elder Ballard's talk.
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1207-6,00.html