As I was walking out of my six week postpartum appointment, a nurse said to me “enjoy your baby.” At the time, I wondered why she even said that because I was so sleep deprived, I thought to myself “what is there to enjoy right now?” But, even in that season there was much to enjoy. I had a healthy newborn who was so cute and snugly, and now that newborn is a one year old who is still very cute, but not as snugly because he wants his independence. If there is one thing I can share as I reflect on my one year of parenthood, it is to “enjoy your baby.”
My son who once needed to be breastfed, rocked to sleep, and went through 6-8 diaper changes in one day, is now able to feed himself, put himself to sleep, and goes through less diaper changes. He now also talks with me, and calls me “mama,” and he laughs at the silliest things that always make me laugh too. The one day it took for him to reach each of those various milestones, took several days for us to help him get there.
Parenthood has so many highs and lows and there isn’t really a “destination” you’re working towards like if you were in school. Often times many of your sacrifices go unseen. But I believe that God in Heaven sees each and every sacrifice. He notices the exhaustion from all of the caretaking, He sees the late nights and early mornings, and I believe He’s always cheering us on as parents because we are literally doing His work. We are His hands and feet as we change every diaper, drive to every pediatrician appointment, make every meal, and comfort our children through every pain and sickness.
I’ve been reading this book called To the Tenth Generation: God’s Heart for Your Family, Far Into the Future, by Ray and Jani Ortlund. There’s one chapter, “Parenting Today For a Confident Tomorrow,” where they share how our children deserve our best and expound on how much of a privilege it is to be a parent. Society however, doesn’t paint the picture that way. Society places the weight of the sacrifice of having a child, over the value in having a child. Does parenting take a lot of work? Yes, but is it worth every sacrifice? Absolutely. As you look through scripture that highlight children and the blessings (or curses) that are passed onto other generations because of a parents behavior, you can truly see how great of an impact it is to have a child. You can see more of God’s perspective towards having children because ultimately “children are a blessing from the Lord,” (Psalm 127:3) so why not bask in the gifts that God can offer you?
A child carries your DNA far into future generations to come, and in the book they share that “your most beautiful legacy is your selfless devotion to your future family. It’s demanding, but their tomorrows are worth it all.” After being a mother for one whole year, this quote carries a different meaning. I know that as my son gets older, my parenting will truly begin to form. The legacy I want to leave behind is something I keep in mind because as I aim to truly serve him in my role as a mother, I’m ultimately serving the Lord too.
There’s a scripture the Ortlund’s share that’s leaving an imprint on my heart and it’s 2 Corinthians 12:15a which says “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls…” In the same way Paul was devoted to the Corinthians—so much so that he devoted his life to be spent for the salvation of their souls—we as parents should devote our lives to be spent for our children, so that ultimately they too can be saved. It takes prayer, time, a lot of sacrifice and determination, but our future selves will thank us for this, and future generations will remember us for it. Most importantly, God will reward us for it.
Throughout the Gospels in the Bible, you can see how Jesus went from one town to another just serving His children and spending His life for them (He literally even died for us). He was their healer, deliverer, provider, guide, and more. And to this day, the Bible says in Hebrews 7:25 “…He lives eternally to make intercession for us.” God is the ultimate example of what a good parent is, He even calls us His “most prized possession” (James 1:18 NLT). This shows that He takes joy in us, despite our shortcomings and weaknesses, so how much more should we take joy in our children as parents? Even during the very difficult seasons, I believe there is much joy in basking in having a child.
In closing, I’m grateful for this one year, and I’m looking forward to the many more years ahead!
This post kicks off my ‘Mommy Mondays’ blog series, where I’ll be highlighting different aspects of motherhood each week leading up to Mother’s Day. Stay tuned for the next post!
BeautyOluwa
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