Kindergarten Is Upon Us

Big day here in the Rings house. One in which we saw our little girl go off to school for the first time. Crazy. But I can't even begin to tell you how cool and exciting this is. I am really proud of my little girl and who she is - thoughtful, caring, nurturing, and creative. It is fun to watch her grow. These are the moments for us as parents to be excited about given all the hard work, much love, and fervent prayers we have offered to our children over the years. I'm not sure where it ranks on the surreal factor (check out my friend Ed's post on his blog about his oldest daughter getting married and it's surreal factor), but at some level it's kinda relative to our season of life.

This is a big moment for Sarah and for us. Sarah is starting the journey of thinking for herself outside the walls of our home. She begins the journey of making friends outside of the community that we have somewhat constructed for her (what's she gonna do...drive to Mickey D's to chill with her hommies on playset?). She continues on her path of discovering who she is and who Jesus is and how those two realities intersect and connect.

Kelly and I begin the process of letting go our precious and amazing little soul of fleshly responsibility to people other than us. And we also continue the process of saying ultimately she is not ours, but his. The One who loves her more than we can imagine. The One who longs for her to be "strong and courageous" because he is with her. The One who lived, died, and lives again so that she might know what life can be all about and that it's a gift to use beautifully and incredibly.

Here are few pics of my brave girl on the day she described as being a "a lot exciting and a little scary":