It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was holding my tiny little girl in my arms in the hospital, in complete awe of how beautiful, perfect, and tiny she was.
Now she walks, talks, and tests my patience daily.
For so long, Mother’s Day has been a day that was all about my mom. Now, it’s about me too. Does that seem crazy to anyone else? It’s my second Mother’s Day and I still have a hard time believing that I’m a mom.
Lately I’ve been reading Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas (highly recommended, even though I’m only on chapter 2!), and it’s reminded me what a gift we have been given as mothers. God chose us to raise these little people. He trusts us enough to put them in our hands (yikes). And raising them and loving them is an act of worship. We love them out of reverence for our God.
When they kick and scream, hit or punch, pull every lid and bowl out of the cupboard, drop something in the toilet, pee on the floor, throw their food; we show them grace, patience, and forgiveness out of our own love for God and as a demonstration of His love for us. We put up with their good and bad days, we work from sun up to sun down, we exhaust ourselves, because it’s our motherly act of worship.
What a gift my daughter is.
When she throws her arms around my neck at night and lays her head on my shoulder as I sing “Jesus Loves Me” to her… what a gift. When she whimpers and runs to me as soon as she sees me coming to pick her up from her grandparents’ house… what a gift. When I laugh and she laughs too just to be a part of my joy… what a gift. When she runs over to me and lays her head on my lap… what a gift. And I am so in love.
Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms and moms-to-be. You work hard, and you deserve this day!
“Lord, the next time we view parenting as a heavy burden, please give us an attitude of worship, remembering that when we give our infant a bath, we are washing your baby; when we feed a hungry six-year-old, we are feeding your child; and when we comfort a hurting adolescent, we are encouraging your teen.”
-Excerpt from Sacred Parenting, Participants Guide by Gary Thomas
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