Dear Friends,
42 hours.
That’s how long it took to labor and deliver my first child.
42 hours of sweat, tears, labor pains, and emotional exhaustion before I heard her cry…
before they laid her on my chest…
before the reality of being a mother really hit.
While the joy of becoming a mother was beyond anything I had ever imagined, the weight of being responsible for this tiny little human was equally as none I had ever imagined. This tiny little ball of wonder I held in my arms was completely dependent on me. She was not only dependent on me for sustenance and diaper changes, but she was dependent on me to teach her how to be a decent human being, to learn right from wrong, to learn to be kind and gracious, but also strong and courageous in a world that would threaten to destroy her.
Suddenly the sleepless nights ahead with my new baby seemed far less daunting than the task of raising a God fearing, God honoring, well-functioning member of society.
The bigger picture hit me like a flash flood without warning rolling over me in waves of fear, insecurity, doubt, and worry. I had been a mother for all of 5 minutes and already I was failing to find answers to the questions I couldn’t believe I had never considered before this moment. How will I make sure she becomes all that I was responsible for teaching her to become?
I didn’t have the answers. But I’m her mother, I’m supposed to have those answers…
As I stared into her big brown eyes and marveled at her fingers and toes, I realized that I never would have all the answers. I would make mistakes, I would respond to her poorly from time to time, I wouldn’t always be the best example of strength and courage or kindness and grace. But while I was sure to make mistakes (and have made my fair share,) I was comforted by one thing… I don’t have to have all the answers, I only have to seek the one who does.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 143:10
The Lord didn’t make mamas to be know-it-alls, or to handle everything perfectly. He made them to seek His will.
As we seek His will, He leads us forward on a firm footing to love our children even in their ugliest moments, to forgive them even when their words or actions are heart breaking, to rejoice in their accomplishments rather than be threatened by them, to celebrate the little things just as much as the big ones.
It is here, in seeking the will of the Father, that we teach our little balls of wonder discernment of right and wrong, the humility of kindness and grace, and the trust in the Almighty that gives us strength and courage.
In seeking the will of the Father, we teach them to seek the will of the Father and trust him to lead them forward on a firm footing as God fearing, God honoring, well-functioning members of society.
Mamas, you were never meant to be perfect, you were simply meant to seek the will of the Father and wait as he gives you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it to raise those precious humans on a path that will allow them to be exactly who He created them to be.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas trying to raise decent humans.
