To Precious Mommies

God has laid it on my heart tonight to share some truth. Upon looking at a picture of my sister and her day old baby, it was easy for me to see the beauty in that little one wrapped in a new pink swaddle. She’s perfect and precious and oh so cute! Surely she is the picture of God’s “wonderfully made” creation. But then I looked at the picture some more. I looked at my sister. Sure she was smiling, but her eyes were a little puffy and watery, her hair was all wrapped up in a makeshift bun, waiting so patiently to be shampooed. But in this exhausted, unkept mess I saw the real picture of “wonderfully made”.

Sometimes as mommies, we don’t see it in ourselves. Especially when we’re new mommies. Most of the time we feel the opposite of wonderful. We feel large and ugly, drained and incompetent, wondering why God would give us such a big responsibility. But mommies, let me paint you a different picture. Just like that precious baby in your arms, you were created for a purpose. And just like every purpose God gives you, you will not be equipped with all you need. You will not have enough energy to stay up for two weeks strait, you will not have enough patience to smile at your little one after it’s been crying for two hours. You may not, at times, feel love as you roll over for the fifth time that night as the monitor goes off. BUT! God does. God can bless you with that energy to make it through another day; he will give you patience and the love you need. God has wonderfully made you for this purpose. And in this purpose, he desires you to need him, to rely on him, to trust him.

Look at your baby. She does not wonder whether or not she will have food, whether or not she will be changed or kept warm. She simply cries out and you are there because God has given you this purpose at this moment. In the same way, mommy, cry out to the one who will give you exactly what you need. Our inadequacies are a beautiful reminder of how awesome our God is and how intimate our relationship with him is. You too are a child, mommy, a precious child who is wonderfully made. Cry out to your Father who loves you unconditionally, and “he will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

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