Steph’s Devotional
Written with Love by
Meg
When Mom asked me if I’d like to do the devotional for your
shower, my first response was, “ARE YOU KIDDING?!” I am neither the writer nor public speaker of
our family. But I guess Mom thought that
having 6 kids in 13 years qualifies me to come up with something to say about
babies and motherhood. (I’m sure that,
after all of the time you’ve spent in my crazy home, you can picture me typing
these notes with 5 kids buzzing in my kitchen and a 6 day old baby nursing in
my lap). In addition to being a mother
of many young ones, I am so happy to be your sister, Steph, and to consider you
a very close friend. When we were
pregnant together for a few months, I loved talking about our crazy symptoms
and sharing ultra sound pictures and favorite pickles. I enjoyed my pregnancy
so much more, sharing it with you, and I am even more excited about watching
our little boys grow up together as cousins.
During the first week after delivering Brandan, there were
some Scripture verses that kept coming to mind, giving me a fresh understanding
of God’s love for me and the grace He offers me as a mother. I would like to share them with you with the
prayer that they encourage you as well.
The first verse is Isaiah 49:15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no
compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget
you.” It was such an incredible
experience holding Brandan for the first time and admiring every inch of his
tiny body. Lying on the hospital bed, I
said to Stephen, “Isn’t it amazing that
this helpless baby has brought nothing into the world and has done absolutely
nothing to earn our approval, yet we couldn’t possibly love him more and are
fully committed to caring for him and feeding him and protecting him?” And this Scripture tells us that the most
passionately devoted love of a mother for her newborn is just a small glimpse
of the love that God has for us.
The sweetest children’s Bible storybook I have ever read is
called, The Jesus Storybook Bible. It clearly teaches little ones about the love
of God which is a main theme through all of Scripture. I’d like to read the
introduction to you here.
“God wrote, “I love you” – he wrote it in the sky, and on the earth,
and under the sea. He wrote his message
everywhere! Because God created
everything in his world to reflect him like a mirror – to show us what he is
like, to help us know him, to make our hearts sing. The way a kitten chases her tail. The way red poppies grow wild. The way a dolphin swims. (And I would add…the
way a mother nurtures her new baby). And
God put it into words, too, and wrote it in a book called “the Bible.”
This Bible storybook describes God’s love for his children
as: “A
Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always, and Forever Love.”
Well, a few days and sleepless nights after Brandan’s birth,
the euphoria of delivering a beautiful baby began to pass for me, and the demands
of caring for another little one with a lot of energetic siblings set in. As my energy and patience were depleted by
endless loads of laundry and 3 AM diaper changes and nursing sessions, I became
more aware of how imperfect my maternal love can be at times. While God’s love for me is “A Never Stopping, Never Giving Up,
Unbreaking, Always, and Forever Love,” mine can often be weak. It was at one of my more exhausted and vulnerable
moments as a “new” mom of 6 that God brought to mind another promise.
Hebrews 4:15 says,
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet
without sin.” I started thinking
about all of the ways Jesus (my High Priest who prays to God the Father for me)
could relate to my struggles as a mother – all of the things He sacrificed
because of His love for me. When I
haven’t eaten all afternoon and the baby is crying to nurse right at
dinnertime, I can pray for strength to a God who understands what it is like to
feel exhausted and hungry with a multitude of hungry people to feed. When I slip off for an overdue shower and my
little ones start banging down the bathroom door, I can remember Christ who
retreated to a quiet place to rest, only to be met by another mob of demanding
people looking to be served. God can
give me the grace to take a deep breath and respond with the same patience and
selflessness that His Son showed. When I
am tempted to feel discouraged over the number of scars childbirth has left on
my body, I can remember Christ who counted it all joy to give His body and life
for me.
As wonderful as it is to have the support and help of great
friends and family and a husband like Adam, there are going to be times as a
mother when you’ll need to simply cry out to God for energy and patience to serve
your little one. (During these more
difficult moments, I often claim the promise in Isaiah 40:29, which says, “He
gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”)
I am going to leave you with a quote from my favorite book
on mothering young children which I wish had been written before I had my first
baby. It is called, Loving the Little Years, Motherhood in the Trenches.
“Blessings, like children, are not ethereal and
weightless. Sometimes they feel like
they come at you like a Kansas hail storm – they might leave a welt! But if you accept your lot and rejoice in
your toil, God will give you the kind of overwhelming joy that cannot remember
the details. Motherhood is hard
work. It is repetitive and often times
menial. Accept it. Rejoice in it. This is your toil. Right here.
Those are their faces. Enjoy
them. The days of your life are supposed
to be full of things like this. But joy
is not giddy. It is not an emotional
rush – it is what happens when you accept your lot and rejoice in your
toil. So rejoice in your children. Look them in the eyes and give thanks. You will not even remember the work of all
this planting when the harvest of joy overwhelms you.”
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