Kate’s STM Kairos Retreat

Nov 9

From Dad

To My Sweet Girl, Kate!

Where do I begin when writing to my precious little girl? I can remember the day we found out we were going to have a girl and I was in shock, because the on going joke was that Mouton’s only have boys. You are so special and that is the first of many special things I remember about you. I can remember calling BeBe to let her know, and she couldn’t believe it either, so in some ways you are a miracle. You are my little miracle and you continue to make me so proud everyday. You truly amaze me how strong you are. I know you have had your struggles with stupid girls over the years, but to see how you have grown into such a beautiful young lady inside and out makes me so proud to be your Dad. I worry about you because you're my little girl and I love you more than anything in the world, but I feel like I don’t have to worry about the decisions you make because you have such a good head on your shoulders. I will say I’m a little sad because you are growing up so fast, but I’m okay with it because of the person you have become. Another thing that makes me so proud of you is how strong your faith is in God. To see you participating in Campus Ministry and going to Kairos makes me so happy for you, and I truly hope and pray that your experience at Kairos this weekend is beyond special.

I have to say, you having a boyfriend took some getting used to, but I must say I’m happy you found Tre because he seems to make you very happy, but please remember that you can always come to me for anything, and I will do anything to make sure you are always safe.

When I pray, the thing I thank God for more than anything is how blessed I am to have such a beautiful family, and I always thank God for my Sweet Kate. You aren’t just special because you are my only girl, but you are special because of the person you have become over the last 17 years and I’m so looking forward to seeing the next 17 years and beyond.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND I’M SO PROUD OF YOU AND I PRAY THAT YOU HAVE A BLESSED AND AMAZING EXPERIENCE AT KAIROS!!!!!

I Love you, Dad

From Mom

Hi My Love!!!

Looking through pictures to send for Kairos had me overwhelmed with joy and a little heartache (of course)…okay maybe a lot of heartache!🤣 (just wait until you have kids; and a daughter in particular!) I often get overwhelmed with joy and awe (and sadness) when thinking of how fast time has gone by with you, my sweet precious, delicate, perfect little girl.

You are just so so amazing my love!!! You simply are. And it’s admirable and inspiring to me in so many ways.

You are so sweet, so thoughtful, so innocent, so kind, so beautiful, so filled with God’s love, so focused, and so simple (and that is a HUGE HUGE compliment!). But as I type those words, I also hesitate, because I don’t want you to focus on what we think of you or what others thing of you. I want you to always remember that NONE of your wonderful virtues and attributes are expected of you (except for being filled with God & His love!) and I want you to always remember that you should NEVER be too hard on yourself when you do fall short… because you will fall short… of your own expectations, and you will fall short of what you THINK our expectations are; but never forget my love that nothing you can ever do or say or be could ever make us think anything differently or love you any less than what we thought and how much we loved you from the moment we found out we were pregnant, from the moment we found out we were having a girl, and from the moment you were born. And to be honest, none of those feelings and thoughts compare to who you have become and who you are. I know you worry about living up to those expectations, but nobody expects much of you my love…if you are LOVING…simply LOVING…then you have met ALL expectations that are worth anything in the long run. And YOU, Kate, you LOVE so very tremendously!

I hope you have or will get so very much out of this retreat my sweet love. God will always love you in ways Dad and I can’t humanly because those ways just don’t exist in the human world. When I mentioned how much we loved you from the moment we found out we were pregnant, God loved you the moment he planned to create you, and the moment he DID create you in my womb…how amazingly humble that is. He planned for YOU, he wanted YOU, and something really cool I learned to look at this way is: He loves YOU as if YOU are the only child of His. And he literally can do that…even though we can’t fathom it in the human world.

There are so many things I want to say and would love to write…

Remember your struggles are part of God’s plan for you and are actually a blessing in disguise…because you get to learn so many important and valuable lessons and attain virtues much sooner than many people: you get to learn how to live right, you get to learn what’s important, you get to learn forgiveness, you get to learn sacrifice, you get to learn the world was not made for you, you get to learn we were not made for each other, you get to learn the world will let you down, and you get to learn to be vulnerable again even when the world does let you down, you get to learn you must give of yourself, you get to learn you are broken and God loves you anyway, you get to learn we are all broken and you get to learn how to start looking for Jesus first in every broken person, you get to learn to love anyway, and you get to learn that you are loving and living for Jesus so you can be with Him in Heaven.

It’s sometimes too much to think about you being 17 already and being a senior next year. Your future fills me with excitement and happiness for where the Lord will take you in your life…he has an amazing plan for you that I can’t wait for you to realize - an “ah ha!” moment that you deserve so abundantly.

Kate, you have been an absolute blessing to me, one that I never really thought about on a deep level before I had children. My love for you is deeper and wider than the oceans and it causes me to stop in my tracks to take that love and multiply it with how much God loves us.

I am sorry for the times I have let you down, I am sorry for the times I have not lived up to your expectations of a Mother, and I am sorry for anything I have ever done to make your life more difficult. I still don’t understand on a human level why you have had the struggles you have had, and sometimes they cause me a lot of anger for you toward others, but on a Heavenly level, I know God is at work and we will look back and all of that will be be so insignificant…Im just so proud of you for holding on and for moving forward and for continuing to love and for not letting your heart be affected.

YOU are AMAZING! YOU are LOVED abundantly! YOU are WORTHY! YOU are CHERISHED!

I wish I could hug and hold you for hours everyday my love. Always know that I love you so much it hurts, I love you so much it brings tears, I love you so much it makes me desire God that much more.

I can’t wait to see you when you come back. I hope you enjoy the time there, I hope you let your guard down, I hope you see Christ, and I hope He does something wonderful in you…whether you recognize it right away or not.

I love you so much bug!!!!! So so much!!

Love, Mom

From Michael

Hey Kate,

I hope you’re having a great time at Kairos. Allow God to change your life in positive and powerful ways! Always know that God loves you and I do too. I know we should probably be closer than we are, but it’s never too late to get closer as followers of Christ and siblings. There are a lot of family and friends praying for you, just know that we all love and care for you!

I love you, Michael

From Matthew

Hello, Kate.

This is your fellow favorite younger brother, Matthew. I just wanted to wish you a great retreat. Hope for the best for you, My favorite and only sister, that you will be okay during this retreat now, and I will be praying for you. I love you, Kate.

Goodbye. Love, Matthew

From Mitch

Hi Kate,

I like how you are so nice to me and you bring me to CVS and get me a candy every single time, and you always ask me and not anybody else and I think that is nice. I hope your dreams come true. When I don’t see you, I miss your jokes. I love when you spend time with me.

I love you. Love, Mitch

From Minew & Grandpaw

From BeBe & Paw-Paw

From Nanny

From Tre

Hey, Kate

I heard that you were going on a retreat this weekend and that we could write letters so that is what I am doing. Kate I am so very thankful for you in every way. When you came into my life you made me so very happy when I was going through a hard time. You were my study buddy, my church partner and my best friend. I am so proud of how hard you work to get better in school and grow in faith and learning to come out of your comfort zone. You are such an amazing person and im so lucky you some how ended up choosing my dumb butt. I hope you have an incredible weekend and have many great stories to tell me when you get home. Im gonna miss you this weekend but have fun my sweat girl. I love you so much Kate

Love, Tre Bishop

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