To the New Mom…

  To the New Mom at the Beginning of a New Year,   I keep thinking about all the things that I want to share with you, a new mother, someone just one small step behind me. There is so much ahead for you, so much to explore and discover about yourself, your family, your God. I try desperately to think back to what it was like for me as a new mom.   I remember how hard I worked to learn about sleep patterns and baby nutrition needs. I cloth diapered and pureed food. I researched and found out how much I didn’t know. While the books revealed my ignorance in the area of human-raising I had a friend encourage me that I was an expert in one area; my child. I was the one who knew her best- and I could would simply “know” what she needed. In the middle of all that newness and discouragement, God was asking me to trust Him.   You created me for this Lord. I trust you.   I grieved that my parents weren’t closer, I felt isolated. I was full of ideas and energy. Although, in my new role, I wasn’t quite sure where to channel it. All the while I was loving my job as “mom” and “wife”. The transition into motherhood was strange and wonderful, lonely and full, remarkable and dull.   Reveal yourself to me, Father.   Now, here I am with my fourth babe. With my first, I was able to drink in each moment of each day with her. I would anticipate the coming milestones and simply stare at and play with her. Now, I drink in the moments where I can with each child because it all seems to fly by too quickly. I try to work in times during my day where I can simply BE with my kids. I love to play and read books with them. (It is a joy!) I love it when they can help me with small tasks around the home. What I have found is that it is in these everyday things – the fantastically normal parts of life – that the Lord is most visible to me.   Lord reveal yourself to me.   When my kids are in the backyard and the sun streams through the trees – it is as though God is shining His blessing on us. Last week, I was up in the middle of the night with a croupy baby and I took him outside to breath the cooler air – the moon was as blue as a sapphire and shining brightly on the ground making everything appear like blue statues. Even then, at 3 am I was able to praise Him for the beauty He lets me enjoy. That little glimmer gave me strength the next day as I was tired and needed a rest and patience.   Lord, use me up.   What I am finding though, what I desire most in my walk with the Lord is to do the ordinary with extraordinary excellence. I am physical and I am spiritual – sometimes I give more weight to the spiritual. But I am finite. My limits are both physical and spiritual. I hear the world tell me “you can do it all” but in my other ear I hear the Lord say “My grace is sufficient, my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9) Some days my body is tired and weak. Other days my patience is waning and my spirit needs to be revived. It is in this weakness that I need Christ to life me up.   Be strong in me, Lord.   In the end, motherhood will sanctify us, teach us and test us. We are blessed to get to learn about our God in this way.  

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:14-21