preparing for 6th grade

Abby begins 6th grade in 2 days and 6th grade is such a big deal.  Entering secondary school  and leaving behind the elementary days.  Did you guys know that lockers must be decorated now?  Neither did I.  I'm not a decor afficionado.  Plain, cheap, simple...those are words to describe me.  Abby's locker is so cool, thanks to her daddy and some sweet friends.  It has purple flowered wallpaper, hanging lip glosses and hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works, magnets, little hanging baskets with pens, and a black rug.  The lockers at our school are huge!  It is really cute, I must admit.  I also admit that I've hard a hard time pretending to care if it is cute.  25,000 children die each die from starvation and contaminated water and my daughter and her friends have lockers with rugs and wallpaper.  When my eyes begin to roll at all this, I make myself remember what it was like to begin 6th grade. It stunk to high heaven.  That was my worst year.  I missed 32 days of school from mysterious illnesses(likely stress related at my large city middle school and I needed to gain some weight--horribly skinny). We didn't have locker art, but the cool kids did wear Keapa tennis shoes that you could switch out the little plastic logo on the side for different colors(it was 1984 people!), and they had wind shorts, and Izod shirts. So, if a bedazzled locker helps her feel at peace entering the tumultous adolescent years, then bring it on.

I've been praying for her to find her self-image in being a daughter of the Creator of the world.  I'm praying for her to have sweet friends who are like the verse in Proverbs about iron sharpening iron.  I pray against any adoption angst that makes her question her worth and that she continues to be proud that she is Korean-American and not wish she was blonde and blue-eyed and skinny.  I pray for her future husband to be pure, kind, sold out in love with Jesus Christ and basically be just like her daddy is.