I used to know this girl

I used to know this girl once,
This 4 year old girl.
She was sweet and innocent.
She loved to laugh and play with her daddy.
She loved life, because she never thought about life.
She never questioned it, just lived it,
But then again how could she?
She was only 4 years old.

I used to know this girl once,
This 8 year old girl.
She was rambunctious and full of energy.
She would get angry easily, but her daddy would calm her down.
She loved life, when she wasn't in trouble.
She never questioned it, just lived it,
But then again how could she?
She was only 8 years old.

I used to know this girl once,
This 12 year old girl.
She was cute, but slightly awkward.
She thought she was pretty, because her daddy thought she was.
She loved life, but it often made her wonder.
She questioned it, but still lived it,
But what else could she do?
She was only 12 years old.

I used to know this girl once,
This 14 year old girl.
She was shy and self-conscious.
She loved to draw and hold her boyfriend's hand (not her daddy's)
She loved life, as long as she felt loved back.
She never questioned who she was, because her boyfriend always told her,
But she didn't know any better,
She was only 14 years old.

I used to know this girl once,
This 18 year old girl.
She was funny and outgoing.
She loved to make people laugh, and impress them even more.
She loved life, when everyone was looking.
She never questioned who she was, because her friends always told her,
But what do you expect?
She was only 18 years old.

I used to know this girl once,
This 20 year old girl.
She was hopeful and curious.
She loved God and wanted to know more about Him.
She loved life, because she thought she was supposed to.
She never questioned who she was, because the church always told her,
But I don't blame her,
She was only 20 years old.

I used to know this girl once,
This 22 year old girl.
She was active and in good shape, but never good enough.
She loved to measure her food, but pretended that she didn't.
She hated life, but acted like she loved it.
She questioned who she was, but her eating disorder always told her,
So she stopped asking.
She was only 22 years old.

I hope to meet this girl one day,
This 20, 30, 40, 50-something year old girl.
She will be confident and healthy.
She will live in freedom and pursue her passions.
She will love her life, simply because it is good, and a gift from God.
She will be proud of who she is, look back on who she was, and continue to look forward to who she will become.
She will have a voice,
And her age will not matter.