One of the Greatest Gifts to our Daughters…
Dear Momma,
I don’t know about you, but as a momma of three, managing five busy schedules, keeping a clean home (or trying at least), and having a full-time professional career, my journey of staying healthy has been one that I’ve been navigating for a while. I’ve had my seasons of “I’m on it and rocking this health journey” and other seasons where I felt I had to choose between exercise or sleep and the exercise had to go. I’ve had the walks where it felt like sleep walking and the days where I felt I could run all day!
Looking back, I can truly appreciate how my mother took care of herself, her physical body. She always looked so beautiful to me, and I was so proud to call her my mom. I look at my grandmother and grandfather and they both took really great care of their bodies by staying active and eating healthy. In the last several years, my dad has really taken care of himself and making his health a priority. I remember having a conversation with my dad and him telling me that there will be times during this busy season of my life that I’ll tell myself I don’t have time to take care of myself, but I do and I must. It has to be a priority in my life because if I don’t take care of myself well, it’s going to be hard to take care of these three beautiful girls I have. He could see me struggling like he had in the past, simply trying to put everything else first.
Ever since our girls were little, I’ve always wanted to start special traditions of building healthy (and memorable) habits, not only for them to enjoy and remember, but for the girls to build regular rhythms in their lives (at a young age) they can carry with them as they walk into womanhood. I have also wanted to begin these rhythms because I know it’s my responsibility to take care of my body the best I can as I believe that my body is the Lord’s, and not just my own. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you whom you have from God. You are not your own for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
When my children were ages 6 and under, I began taking the girls on trips for Color Runs. I took the girls to Omaha, Nebraska for several years. We’d stay the night and have fun with family. We’d visit a water park, the children’s museum, get ice cream, and go to the zoo. For several years, since 2016, we’ve kept going back to the Color Run and each time would experience something new. We also went for the purpose of running and experiencing the run and the environment on race day. The trips were so fun! To this day, even though the girls were so young, they remember the summers we went to this run and the fun things that came along with the run on these trips.
Race day was always fun and the energy was high on those early mornings. The girls got to experience the bubbles and the color everywhere. Now, I’m not gonna lie. It was A LOT of steps for those little legs, but we weren’t out there trying to win the whole thing. We took our time. We had bouts of walking. We took our breaks and stopped for a while at the water stations. I had some times where the youngest wanted a piggy-back ride for a bit. When we passed the color stations, we’d stop and hang out for just a little while. As the girls got older, they enjoyed the run and the medals at the end, but what they looked forward to most was seeing their godbrothers.
Several years ago, I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a small photo album (of course on the week it was 50% off). I thought it would be pretty cool to see the pictures from these races over the years and thought the girls might appreciate this album one day. I began printing out photos from each of our runs. I’d let the girls pick out stickers, put the pictures in their own albums, create their albums, date them, personalize them. These are precious and special because the girls have made them, and it’s pretty awesome to see how they continue to grow up over time. One day, when they are in a busy season of their lives like me, I pray they open this album and remember to make time for someone extremely important: themselves. I pray they know it’s not just for themselves, but to do His work.
As the girls continued to get older, I learned about Girls on the Run. If you’ve never heard of it, check it out! Although I was knee-deep into my career and the family calendar, I had a prompting from the Lord to lead this experience before it was too late. I’m thankful for His promptings. This was a beautiful experience with other girls and another momma who helped me coach into these young ladies. Thank you, Marci. We’ve lived a lot of life together and I’m so thankful for you my Sister in Christ.
My friend and I wove Jesus into these lessons at times because honestly it’s hard for me to do much of anything without talking about our Lord. I knew that as the girls were getting older, we’d have less and less of an opportunity to do Girls on the Run with their schedules becoming busier and their sports or activities potentially becoming more serious. It was a commitment of about 6 or 8 weeks leading these young ladies. Several girls knew each other and several did not. The Lord answered my prayers with the group He placed together.
By the end of our short time together, what lessons were learned! What a celebration it was! What an experience for young girls to come together in a positive environment and continue the habit of taking care of themselves and being healthy in a comujnity of other girls! It was worth every single minute of coaching!
I’m going to be honest. I was working full time, alongside my friend Marci, who was also a full-time working mama. And I knew going into this, I was going to need energy from Him to do this well. I wanted my girls to have this experience with other girls and friends, but I was tired. Just like anything, the leader matters. The teacher matters. The coach matters. That person can make or break an experience and I knew He was calling me to lead this group. I was willing to step into this, but I couldn’t do this without Him. This is a reminder to pray specifically for what you want and need. When you seek, you will find Him. Pray specifically about what you want your girls to experience. Pray about people to come alongside you to join forces. And remember, we will always make time for what truly matters most to us.
My oldest has learned to love running and loves race days. She loves the environment of a running event and loves running with a friend. She loves to compete, which she gets honest, so she doesn’t mind the medal at the end too much either. My middle daughter has also asked to take part in races with friends. When I go on a run, it’s not uncommon for my girls to ask, “hey mom, can I go on the run with you?” I think our girls are really learning to value, not just the exercise aspect, but the time spent together. As for my youngest, well, let’s just say running is for the birds!
Pray over the habits the Lord wants them to build. Be the example of someone living out those healthy habits. I want my daughters to live healthy lives and take care of themselves. So, it’s important for me to live as healthy as I can and be intentional on making healthy lifestyle choices, too. Although I’m imperfect on this journey, I won't stop striving for healthy habits to create good health. If I want my girls to be strong and fit and have healthy bodies and minds, guess who is going to need to model that for them?
Running is one example of how to lean into this. Color runs are fun! There’s bubbles, colors and friends! I’ve run with my daughters and their friends, and as my girls have gotten older they’re beginning to partake in various races with friends on their own.
Running might be for you. It might not be for you. It might be walking or riding bikes. It might be something completely different. I want to challenge you to find a healthy habit to create in your life, whether it’s you starting by yourself or inviting your daughter into that space of healthy habits with you. I still want to get a little faster and stronger and even lose a few pounds here and there, but one thing I really want to show the girls is that I am so thankful for my body that gave birth to three beautiful girls. I am so thankful for this body that is healthy about 99% of the time. I’m healthy and thankful for that. I want my girls to see that I am comfortable in my own skin and I love the way I look. I’m also striving to take care of this Holy temple the Lord gave me and I don’t want to take my body for granted.
Taking care of our bodies is an important part of our life. We need to be healthy in order to do the work the Lord has called us to do. Building healthy habits is a process. This process is about me and you being a positive example for our girls on our health journeys, not being perfect. This process is about exposing our girls to different ways to build a healthy lifestyle. This process is about our girls seeing us make time for ourselves, because it matters. This process begins at a young age. It takes time for our girls to truly understand the importance of being intentional on cultivating good health, and that it doesn’t come by accident. Having a model of what this can look like, matters.
Think about the healthy habits you want to invite your daughter into. Think about the healthy habits you want your daughters to continue to walk out as they graduate middle school, high school, and college if that’s where they’re being led to. One day our daughters may become wives and mothers themselves. What are things you want them to carry away with that they saw you do or actually did with you? When they’re sitting at their dining room table one day and reflecting on you and their children’s grandmother, what are things you find important for your girls and future grandchildren to be proud of? What are things you want your daughter to appreciate and lean into that can help her navigate her health as she navigates different seasons of her life? How can you help set an example of pouring into the healthiest you that you can, so she can see what that looks like? How can you help her be her healthiest so she, too, can do the work the Lord has called her to do?
Building these habits of good health are important and will have a long-lasting impact on our girls. It’s a process and it’s certainly not just a number on a scale. When our girls know their bodies are Holy Temples to be taken care of to do the will of our Lord, there’s a different depth of understanding of good health for our girls, and to be honest, for us too, mommas.
Go ahead. Think of one healthy habit you’d like to create with your girl over the next several years to look back on, smile on, and know that you’re handing down one of the greatest gifts to your girl: your healthiest version of you.
Let’s turn our Eyes to Jesus because it’s all for His Glory.
In love,
Kassie Leigh