Motherhood, blessed motherhood

Pregnancy declares war on your body. Babies bring sleepless nights. Toddlers ruin shopping trips. School-age kids whine; teens declare war on you. 

Honestly, why does anyone want a child? 

It's true that pregnancy brings its share of  issues; from nausea and vomiting, to weight gain, cramping, and discomfort. But it's also true that there is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your child on that ultrasound. Our first child was obstinate. She wouldn't let the sonographer get the pictures he needed. Our second was sucking his thumb. Our third child waved and the fourth smiled. It was so cute we added it to our Christmas cards that year. 

When the baby hiccups, moves or kicks you are intimately involved. In fact, when the baby is born it knows the mother's voice and smell. He or she knows you. 

There's nothing quite like the unconditional love of a baby. Yes, their tiny stomachs need food every few hours, but when they see you for the first time, cuddle into you, and move their little mouth, you melt in a way you never have before. 

And when they fall down after their first wobbly steps and scrape their knee, they look to you. 

And yes, toddlers press the limits, but they also open your eyes to the beauty of everyday things you take for granted. They notice the flowers and the clouds and the sparkle in the grains of sand. They jump and dance in the rain you see as inconvenient and marvel at the glimmers in fresh snow. 

When they start school your heart breaks just a little. Oh, you are happy they are there to learn, but you are entrusting your child to someone else. There will be the tears of anger and grief when another child hurts your child, but tears of joy as they come home and read their first sentence to you. 

And there will be the teen years that your child suddenly thinks the world should dance to their beat, but there will also be the times you sing and dance and laugh together. 

And the day comes, (though it seemed for years that it would never come) when all the time and love and work you invested becomes more than you could have imagined. And your child, though still your child, is now your friend.

Motherhood is so much more than morning sickness and labor and sleepless nights. It is so much more than whining and crying and rebellion.

It is a new way to experience love, incomparable to anything you've ever experience, and incomprehensible. 

The only thing that comes close is the love God has for us. Despite our weaknesses and  failures, He's still happy to call us His. Despite our temper tantrums and rebellion, He's still there.

If motherhood has come to you, you are blessed indeed. Every season brings blessings and curses, but your momma heart will never be the same. And it's a good thing.

Tweet: @ALife2 Motherhood is so much more than morning sickness and labor and sleepless nights #MotherhoodRocks http://ctt.ec/TdE0Y+

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Author: Amber Swenson

Amber has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literature. She has authored four books; two of them (Bible Moms and The Whisper Theory) are in print and two (The Bread of Angels and Ladies of Legacy) are in various stages of publication. Both her Bible studies and her novels are written in an effort to bring single, married, young and older women to a closer relationship with their Savior Jesus Christ. She also authors a weekly blog found on facebook under "Bible Moms" or at "biblemoms.wordpress.com".