Precious Gift

Yesterday I had the privilege of going to the hospital to meet the first born son of some friends. What a joy it was to see the love so evident in these parents' eyes as they gazed down at their precious little one!
As I talked to the mom about the whole labor experience, I was amazed anew at what a wonderful gift we mothers have. God has blessed us as women with the gift of bringing life into this world. I know that ultimately God is the giver of life, but He has chosen our mortal bodies to be a sanctuary for these new little lives that He is growing.
True, it does not come without sacrifice. We must endure the months of morning sickness (some worse than others), the agonizing pain of stepping on the scale each month, the swelling of not only our tummies, but often other body parts as well, hot flashes, struggling to find a comfy position to sleep in the last few weeks, and of course all the pains that come along with labor and delivery!
But ~ what about the many joys that we experience while carrying our children? Remember when you realized for the first time that you were pregnant? What about telling your husband that he was going to be a father or your parents that they were going to be grandparents? How about the first time that you heard your babies heart beating or the first time that you felt them move? The bond that grows between a mother and a baby for those 9 months are so strong, that we are willing to go through the pains of delivering our baby just so that we can see them face to face, hold them close and to tell them how much we love them!
We face many trials along the long road of motherhood. Pretty soon our little "angels" begin to grow and on some days they seem a little bit more like demons and we realize that being a mom means facing sanctification everyday! We have to endure potty training, terrible twos, embarrassing moments in public before your kids learn what tact is, sibling rivalry, and let's not even get into the whole adolescent/puberty thing!
Oh Lord, let us not grow weary in the work that God has called us to! The daily process of sanctification is yet another way that God blesses us as mothers. We must go through the Refiner's fire in order to come forth as pure gold! What better way to become a refined piece of pure gold than by being a mother! Not only do we get to enjoy bringing a new life in to this world, we get to watch this little life flourish and grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus!