The time has come...

The time I have dreaded and so far avoided has come. Peer pressure, crushes and all the typical middle school drama has finally caught up with us :( There are so many things I want to teach her, so many of my mistakes I don't want her to repeat, so much I want to protect her from, but knowing the best way to communicate all this with her is so hard. What is the right thing to say??? What is the right thing to do?? My instinct is to lock her in her room and throw away the key, keep her locked up and safe for the next 20 or so years. I don't think that is legal so I guess I have to face it. I just hate that this time of her life has to be so hard, so full of drama and emotion. I wish I could do it all for her, make all the decisions, take all the heartache. But I will have to settle for lending a supportive ear, guiding her to the right choices and making sure she knows that God comes first, that he is the one who should lead her heart, not any silly boy at school. Those things are easier said than done so I ask for your prayers in this area as we face this new phase in life. Pray that she will have the wisdom to make the right choices, the courage to do what is right and the perseverance to make it through whatever life throws her way. Pray that her father and I have the strength, wisdom, and courage to, through the guidance of our God, always know the right way to lead our daughter through the perils of adolescence and into adulthood, to steer her towards a life fully devoted to him. May God bless and protect our sweet daughter as she grows and changes in this sometime cruel world. May she always remember how much she is loved and how important she is in our eyes and the eyes of God.