He gently leads those with young...

I've been thinking lately about this Scripture verse:

Isaiah 40:11 (King James Version)

"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young".

As a mother of young children, and especially now as I'm once again a mother of a newborn, this verse has special meaning to me. I love the imagery that it portrays...that of a gentle, patient, loving shepherd caring for his flock. It encourages me that although I am sleep-deprived and often struggling to find the time or energy to accomplish all that I feel I should be doing in a day, God is with me and is gently leading me along. He knows the season of life that I am in and that this season won't last forever. As I nurse or soothe my fussing baby, I find peace knowing I am doing something incredibly precious and important. Although it may seem unproductive or insignificant to much of the world, in God's eyes I am caring for that which He has given me. When I become weary in the process, I find comfort knowing the Lord gathers me close as one of His own and gives me what I need to continue on. What a beautiful picture of a gentle and loving Shepherd.

Letting Go

I remember when I was very pregnant with my first child. A dear friend of mine said something to me that I will never forget. She told me to enjoy the last days/weeks of my pregnancy because after the baby is born, it's all about letting go. Although her words struck a chord in my heart, I had no way of knowing then what the "letting go" of parenting would entail. Fourteen years and five babies later, I've now had many opportunities to experience letting go. From the first time I left my baby with a sitter...to the end of a season of babyhood...to the first day of school...there have been many big and small ways that I've been forced to learn what it means to let go. The hard thing about letting go is that most every situation that involves letting go is forced upon us. In order to survive the moment and in order to embrace the moments that lie ahead, we need to know how to successfuly let go. When it comes to being a mom, it seems that letting go for me is just one long process. It's one long learning experience that involves repeated stretching and struggling of the heart. Perhaps all of the "lesser" events are meant to prepare us for the day when our children leave our home and are no longer under our protective wings. Maybe in order for a mother's heart to survive a letting go such as that, we need these many years of letting go in other ways. Because I am a mom who longs to stop the clock and keep my newborn forever tiny...to keep my five year old from that fateful first day of kindergarten...to keep my oldest from beginning high school this fall...I struggle with all of the changes and "good byes" that motherhood brings. It is only by God's grace that He enables me to let go and embrace the many seasons that having children brings. My prayer is that at the end of my mothering days I will have not only navigated these waters well, but that I also will have taught my children and prepared them to know how to let go in life as well.

Heart Expansion

One of the most amazing things about being a parent is experiencing the capacity to fully love more than one child. I remember being afraid when I was pregnant with my second baby that I would not be able to love another child as much as I loved my first. After she was born, however, I was completely amazed at how my heart not only made room for a second child, but how it seemed to have doubled in size. Now that I have five children, I have experienced this "heart expansion" with the birth of every child. Not only does my love for each of my children not decrease with the arrival of another, but my heart just continues to grow and expand with love.

Perhaps being a parent allows us to better comprehend the love that our heavenly Father has for us. Maybe He wired us with hearts that are able to love and embrace each child equally so that we could more fully experience His own heart for us. God has an amazing capacity to love each and every one of us passionately and without reserve. Even though I love my children to the best of my human ability, I know that compared to my Father's love, my love is imperfect and imcomplete. When my faith is weak and I am struggling to believe that God could possibly love me as much as he loves His other children, I only have to look at my own children and the love I have for each of them and remember that God's love is even far more complete, unconditional, and perfect. One child or five, the love doesn't lessen or change. The same is true with God. He loves each of His children as if we were His one and only. What a special place we each have in our Father God's heart!

A Poem of Dedication...

Our Sweet Baby Joshua is 8 days old today. What a precious gift from God he is...

Lord, we want to thank You
For this precious one so new
As You've given him to us
Lord, we give him back to You
We place him in Your hands
And entrust him now to You
May he learn to love and follow
You his whole life through
Help us, Lord, to guide him
And lead him in Your ways
We ask he'd know Your blessing
Throughout all of his days
Make and use him as he grows
For what You've created him to be
May his life reflect You, Jesus
For all the world to see

J.A.P.