At last, a child.
A friend of mine is almost due to have her first child. Some of you may be able to relate. It took longer than she expected for the pregnancy to happen. There were a lot of hard times, behind them now, wondering if they would ever be parents. They wondered why God was keeping this baby from them. Why couldn’t this part of life be easy for them, as it appeared to be for almost everyone else? Why did they have to wait? Now the wait is almost over and the baby is almost in their arms.
There are things I wish I understood, before I had my first child.
At risk of sounding like a “seasoned mom”, I see all the lessons I have learned from my kids. I know my friend will learn her own lessons in time. Here are a few lessons that stand out as memories. I wish I had known these things before my first child was born. Although, I don’t know if I would have understood…or listened. Maybe that is the real lesson I learned over time.
- Someone has to get up on Saturday morning. When that baby started crying the first Saturday morning we were home with her…I realized right then…we would no longer be sleeping in till 10AM. One of us had to “bite the bullet” and get out of bed.
- You can do everything right, as a parent, and still your emotions and hormones make you feel like you are doing everything wrong. Avoid trusting your emotions at all costs. They are driven by your hormones. Enough said.
- Your husband and family cannot read your mind when you need help. Ask for it. No matter how big or small it is. They want to help you. Those God given chemicals in your body, yes hormones again, make you believe you should be able to do it all. Not true. You are still human even though you bore a child.
- You spent 10 months growing and changing into this “new” body with a child inside of it. it will take at least that to let it “settle back in”. There are parts that will be worse and parts that will be better but all of the changes don’t define who you are. Only you can do that. Choose well.
I wonder how all these and other lessons will change my friend?
Did anyone say things like this to Mary or Elizabeth before they had their first child, Jesus and John?
The Bible doesn’t tell us of anyone sitting Elizabeth down and telling her how her life would change when she had little John running around. Elizabeth was old. Yet, she was in for a surprise, as all mothers know. I always assume Mary went to see Elizabeth so Elizabeth could tell her some of these things as the older mother. Then I remember Elizabeth didn’t have other kids. This was new for them both.
Was Mary’s mom super supportive of her teenage daughter’s pregnancy or did she blame Mary thinking the worst of her? Did Mary even have a mom who was around? How did Elizabeth feel about her pregnancy on days when she was really tired from doing all her normal daily tasks? Luke 1: 24 says she remained in seclusion for the first five months. Morning sickness can be a killer. Did she always remember to keep a good attitude when the hormones raged? Or did she take it out on poor Zechariah with a tongue that wouldn’t quit? These ladies were real people, not just bible characters.
We just don’t know.
Mary and Elizabeth didn’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit yet, either. That didn’t come till much later. From what’s recorded, they had angels appear, visions, or God caused something to happen. For example, when baby John jumped with excitement in the womb. Mary had arrived to see Elizabeth, while Mary was pregnant with Jesus. Luke 1: 15 says John was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was in the womb. Elizabeth didn’t know that, though, for the first six months of her pregnancy. The Holy Spirit didn’t fill her until Luke 1: 41 when Mary showed up to see her. We know Elizabeth was six months along at this point. The Angel told Mary about the other pregnancy at the same time He told her of her own. Look it up. This is real life.
There must have been times when these ladies didn’t feel Christ-like to be with child.
I have to admit that pregnancy and motherhood was a lot easier on my husband with that “Still, Small voice” of the Holy Spirit guiding my thoughts and attitudes. If you don’t know the voice of the Holy Spirit, check out this blog I listen to and read frequently called, “A word with you” by Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc
God will give you the gift of himself, the Holy Spirit, over time as you choose to believe. Merry Christmas!
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