My sweet Zoe, the lover

There are the traces of tears in my Zoe's eyes because she was worried about her dad having smoked a cigar before. She was worried because the lovely people at DARE had scared the bejesus out of her today about drugs, tobacco and alcohol such that she thought her daddy was going to get lung cancer because he occasionally has a cigar. Her grandmother suddenly and unexpectedly died of lung cancer a year and half ago.

It doesn't take much to start Zoe worrying, but in this case, they hit a sensitive spot. As she grows older and learns more about the world, she is worrying about bigger and bigger things. Oh, I wish I could explain those worries away. I wish I could remove them from her heart. I wish I could unburden her tender heart. As a parent, my heart breaks for her. I wish I could carry those burdens for her and set her heart free.

I have talked to her about giving those worries over to God to carry for her. She is learning how to do that....but it is a process. As you know, we adults are still learning how to master that skill. She has such a beautiful tender and empathetic heart. She is a natural people person and nurturer. I wish I could build an invisible shield around her tender heart to protect it from future harm. She worries because she loves so much. She worries because she feels so much. She worries because she cares so much. I hope she always loves and cares so much, but I also hope she learns to let go of the fear of what may go wrong.......and simply enjoy.