The Cheesecake Factory Girls

We sat outside, the twinkle of the white lights giving the night sky a blissful glow.  There were five of us, four young ones…and me.

They call me their favorite mom-friend and I take it as a great compliment. Each one of those girls holds a unique and special place in my heart.  Each one has impacted me in ways they will never fully understand.  Each one has challenged me and given me both a hope and a dream for what my daughter could someday look like.

In a world that tells you teenagers are selfish and obnoxious, these girls are proving that the world is wrong.  They are smart and funny and sensitive and sweet.  They are aware of the world around them and possess maturity beyond their years.  Come to think of it, most of the teenagers at our old church possess these qualities.  It is why we had such an amazing body of believers.  Because where there are amazing teenagers, there are more often than not amazing parents standing behind them.

This was a parting dessert.  I wanted to gather the four of them together at one time, and in one place, to tell them just how much they meant to me and just how proud I was of them.  I fumbled with my words.  I’m better with a keyboard than I am in person.  I’m all awkward and Gen X that way…

You don’t find young people like these four girls often. They are kind, considerate, thoughtful, sweet, witty, smart and they are all drop dead gorgeous on the inside and the out.  One of the four asked if she could go to China for her sixteenth birthday so that she could serve little ones in an orphanage.  And she did it.  The others have served in Haiti, in Mexico and in downtown St. Louis.  Not because they had to, but because they wanted to.

These girls have impacted my life by giving me the encouragement I needed on the hard days of parenting.  Because I know their parents.  I know that the Cheesecake Factory girls are merely a product of God’s grace and firm, loving parenting.  And the three couples who parented these four girls are some of the people we most dearly miss.  They are the three couples who were at the top of the list of reasons we should not move away.

It’s not that these are abnormal teenagers by any stretch of the imagination.  We spent a portion of our evening at the Cheesecake Factory looking for the hunky Australian waiter who worked there.  We never found him, unfortunately.  But in the looking, I fell in love with the Cheesecake Factory girls even more.

They are regular teenage girls who exhibit grace in extraordinary ways. The Cheesecake Factory girls are a picture of true beauty.

When the world says that teenagers are out of control, I always remember the Cheesecake Factory girls and I take heart.  There is hope for me and there is hope for those of you who are currently in the trenches of raising young children.

Why do people say these elementary years are the easy part of parenting?  Because they’re not!  They are fun years and I am going to miss the young years desperately, but they are not easy.  These are the years when all the battles must be won.  These years of childhood are the years when it’s the hardest.

But…

If we win the battles now, what delight awaits us!  We will raise our own Cheesecake Factory girls…and boys.  Teenagers that are fun and delightful and a joy to spend time with.  The fun years await us if we’re willing to fight the fight right now.  Join with me as we battle for the deepest parts of the souls of our children, won’t you?

This weekend I am thankful for grace, for godly examples and for the Cheesecake Factory girls.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”  1 Timothy 4:12

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Comments

  1. Thanks for starting out my morning with tears! You are right…parenting in the elementary years is the hardest (of course, middle school is no picnic). I never thought I would LOVE raising teens but I do! Thank you for loving on my girl. We have been blessed with people other than us who love our kids and who they can look up to. It makes big difference. I love you!!!

    • Your girl is easy to love. And thanks for the encouragement and love you’ve provided over the years. Distance won’t diminish your impact on my life. Love you! 🙂

  2. carol prosser says

    Well said, Kelli! Oh how I believe this to be true! I think YOU are one of my cheesecake girls. Maybe soon we can go there together! Love and miss you! I’m so happy to read about your homeschooling experiences. You are a GREAT mom!

    • Thanks Carol. Thanks for being an impact on me in MY teen years. Anytime you need a break, just come on down. Because I adore your encouragement. I miss your monthly Bible studies. 🙂

  3. I think what you are experiencing is right more than it is wrong! We work with a lot of teens with music, acting, and charity and have experienced the same thing. We had a huge group go to Joplin this year (first teen group they let in to help) and they worked HARD. A bunch of them have insisted on a follow up trip…and they are going in November.

    The kids are alright.

    • I think teens are, by far, the hardest workers out there. They work joyfully and they find fun in labor. As we get older and energy wanes, labor becomes more…laborious. 🙂 I think teen volunteers are the best!

  4. LOVE THIS! We pray regularly that God will bring ‘older, wiser folks’ into each of our man-children’s lives. They are now pretty much grown but they still need that! What a blessing it is for us as parents when those folks step up to the plate. You have blessed those parents!

    We really enjoyed the teenage years…most of the time! 🙂 Having worked hard and laid the groundwork when they were younger made a huge difference.

    Hope you have a wonderful day and weekend!

    • I get that desire more and more as my kids get older. It’s so important for them to have those examples outside of their family. thanks Karen! You have a great weekend too! 🙂

  5. So beautifully written. I had my Cheesecake girls for several. I loved on them and they loved and encouraged me frequently. They impacted my life greatly. And their parents became dear friends. Your Cheesecake girls are so blessed to have you in their lives. I hope to see them all here in Florida someday!