A daughter’s outdooring – welcome to womanhood

The event was called an “outdooring” borrowed from a Ghanaian term used for the ceremony when a child is named after her birth and presented to the community.

In this case, Sophia was being welcomed into womanhood by the women who had spoken into her life and influenced her to grow into her name, which means wisdom.

Jesus by headlock

My sister Tracey, at age seven, had been paying attention in Sunday school, and was persuaded that she would go to hell if she did not accept Jesus into her heart. Her very recent conviction did not give her relief or peace, however, as she carried a burning urgency home from church, tormented for the soul of her younger sister.

The first chance she got, in our shared bedroom, she explained the whole fearful thing to me in stunning detail and then asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus into my heart and save my soul.

I rather just hoped she was wrong. I wished she’d let me continue playing with my doll.