Motherhood has shown me the most intimate love for another human. It has been my greatest joy becoming a mama to my sweet boy, Beckett. It is the most challenging, yet rewarding thing I have ever done. And I am so grateful that Jesus has trusted me and Hunter to raise this little human. My prayer is that one day when Beckett is off to college, I can look back and say that I am proud of how I raised him. And that I don’t regret a single second because I was present in every season.
With that said, I want to write down a few things I learned in my very first year of motherhood, because I know that I might forget it soon if I do not get it out of my brain.
Becoming a Mom Taught Me the Deep Love God Has for Us.
1. Being a mom has shown me that loving a child is an image of how God loves his children. And THAT is incredible. While there are an endless amount of beautiful, sweet, perfect moments, there have also been many hard days, tears, and emotionally draining moments. I remember praying one day and suddenly had the thought – how incredibly exhausting it must be for God to watch us fuss, complain, cry – and yet still takes care of us and keeps his promises to love us no matter what. How there are so many days where it must break his heart to watch us struggle, live in fear, and be angry or anxious. And how we, as humans, no matter how much we know God loves us and holds us in his hands, still let our negative emotions get the best of us. How I must feel as a mom on the hard days, must be a direct reflection of how God sees us on our hard days. And boy, does that wreck me. Because I know the DEEP love I have for my boys. And it is so incredibly beautiful that the in same way I love my sweet boy even when he’s crying, I’m overstimulated, and I don’t quite know what to do, God loves us despite all our darkest moments. How beautiful it is that we have a savior that graciously holds us in his hands even when we do everything to resist it.
Now for a few not so deep things I have learned…
2. If my child is sick, I will catch it. Goodness gracious, I had no idea how many sicknesses take over the nursery at church. And I thought I just had a good immune system before kids. Nope. I just didn’t hang out with sick kids before having a baby… yikes.
3. The motherly instinct does, in fact, exist. And boy am I grateful. I was so terrified that I would have no idea what to do with a baby. But the minute I held Beckett, it was like I knew exactly what I was doing.
4. Needing alone time is okay and self-care is necessary. I need massages like once a month.
5. Flexibility is so important. It is an entire learning curve, trying to learn how to schedule life around a child. And being open-minded and flexible quite literally has to be your number one super power.
6. It’s okay to say no and disagree with other people’s opinions about your child and the things you choose to do for him/her.
7. All babies are different and comparison is pointless. No baby will ever be the same as another. Enjoy your own child at their own pace.
8. Being present is vital, a clean house and to-do’s can wait. This one is hard. But I want nothing more than to be present in my kids lives. And if that means learning to do less, I will absolutely keep learning.
9. Parenting is a team effort and nurturing the relationship with our husbands makes all the difference in working together. Marriage comes first.
10. It is the greatest gift that God has given Hunter and me – to trust us with a child that we can raise to know Him and His steadfast love and grace. Like I still can’t believe he is mine.
It is just an absolute joy to be a mom. I never knew I would feel so confident in exactly where I am right now. But this season is one I will always cherish. Happy 365 days of motherhood to me. I am really proud of our first year of parenting, and I cannot wait to see how year 2 goes, especially welcoming baby number 2!
If you are a new mom, or about to become one, I hope you are encouraged by these words. Being a mom is truly one of the greatest gifts that God gives to us. And you ARE made for this!!
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