High school. Y’all. I thought being a girl high school was tough — nope, parenting a girl in high school is ever so much more difficult. We’re two months in and every day is a new adventure.

Make no mistake, for the most part, my girl loves everything about it. She’s captain of her JV cheer squad, involved in several clubs, and her grades are good. But there are days when she comes to car and I can see the weariness etched in her face. I want to fix it — my momma heart longs to pull her into a big hug and take her home and keep her from the hurtful words, the feeling of being left out, the insecurities and doubts.

The other day I was wishing there was a big roll of bubble wrap I could use to surround her heart — to protect her from all the bumps and bruises that will undoubtedly continue to come along the way.

As I sat down with my Bible and journal, I turned to a familiar verse:

Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.

Proverbs 4:23

Suddenly, bubble wrap didn’t seem so silly. We’re called to guard our hearts! I prayed for insight and wisdom as I considered how to bubble wrap my girl’s heart. And, since I’m sure all you fellow girl moms can relate to that desire to protect our girls’ hearts, I figured I’d share a few of my ideas with you.

Make rest a priority.

We’ve had a busy few weeks and we’re all exhausted. As my husband and I were talking about the chaos on our calendar, we decided this Saturday is a “No One In/No One Out” day. I don’t remember where I first read this idea but we’ve used it often as a means of slowing the pace when life is frantic. As much as my girl might like a day of shopping with friends or to have a friend spend the night, sometimes the best gift we can give her is a day to just be at home. In my experience, our hearts are much more vulnerable when our bodies and minds are exhausted.

Listen to what she says — and what she doesn’t.

Sometimes what my girl doesn’t say is the best insight into her heart. As mommas we need to be students of our babies {even when they are bigger than we are!} and learn to read their nonverbals. There is a particular relationship in my daughter’s life that has been especially hard lately. For several days she shared a lot about how she felt and what was going on. But then it just stopped. I waited a day or two and then asked her about it. The relief on her face was overwhelming. She had reached a point where she didn’t know what to do and she wasn’t sure how to ask me for help. My simple question opened the door for a great conversation about friendships and loyalty.

And most importantly, pray for her.

One of my favorite ways to pray for my girl is to based my prayers on specific Scriptures. There is such power in praying God’s Word over our daughters. I began praying Proverbs 4:23 daily for her about a month ago and since then have seen the Lord do some amazing and beautiful things in her heart. I want my girl to know the power of prayer and how to pray Scripture so I’ve also been writing out simple prayers based on verses for her and leaving them on her bathroom mirror.

We can’t literally bubble wrap our daughters’ hearts. But we can create a hedge of protection around them.

What are some ways you have learned to help protect your daughter’s heart?

I’m devoting October to praying Scripture for my girl. If you want to join me, check out the 31 days series on my blog starting October 1. Read this post for more information.