One at a time, holding back tears, I whispered the same three words into the delicately crafted ears of each child that day on the beach: “I love you.” I wanted to make sure each of them heard, each of them knew.
The pain experienced in labor and delivery (or the adoption process) is only a foretaste of the particular suffering a mother endures. But I’ve learned something else: God’s Word is sufficient for the particular suffering of moms.
“You’re probably better equipped than you realize.” Sometimes the Lord uses someone you don’t expect to speak the truth you need to hear.
How do we help our children differentiate between God and fantasy so that the Christ child we celebrate at Christmas isn’t put in the same category as Santa and his elves? It’s important for our children to know that God is real.
God has used John Piper to teach me three truths related to motherhood and suffering that have given me great hope in my sorrow. The first is that we will suffer as mothers. That reality would be devastating apart from God’s promise that our pain as his children will not be wasted. Not only does God offer us future hope; his Word also sustains us in our suffering.
So much of motherhood is about presence, not performance. It’s about being present with and for our children in a thousand moments that make up their early years and beyond.
Dear Lord, I’m thinking today of the mom who desires joy, but when she considers her present circumstances, all she sees are challenges.
“I love you so much…” I hear my three-year-old’s voice singing these words to the tune of “Happy Birthday” in the next room as she plays, and I smile.
God works all things—even the gritty moments of parenting—for the good of those who love him.
On a recent family road trip, we stopped at least once an hour. No exaggeration. By the fifth potty stop for the same child, it was all I could do to hold my tongue as we walked to the restroom. I felt impatience filling me like a balloon, and I was about to burst.
Katie Faris 