Parenting needs three!

For the first two weeks after Hannah's birth, my husband was at home - and what a relief that was! He helped in myriad ways - propping me up with pillows for feeds, bringing drinks and snacks, cleaning the kitchen, burping the baby, preparing food, taking turns at night to soothe her when niggly and most importantly encouraging me all the way that I am a good mom. I can definitely confirm the truth that, "two are better then one, because they have a good reward for their labor" (Ecclesiastes 4:9). I am very grateful for this blessing of having a caring and committed husband. I know this is not to be taken for granted and my heart goes out to all the single-parents out there. It must be tough - but even in that God's grace is there - if you ask Him for help, to carry you through.
That is a bit of what I experienced this past week. My husband had to go back to work - and it made me feel very vulnerable and alone, not sure whether I would cope. To make matters worse, the baby-blues have set in as well, and I cried for no reason and for everything! Realizing that this is largely due to hormonal shifts, made me feel more at ease. I spoke to a dear friend who had a baby recently and she normalized it all for me.
During the midnight and early morning feeds - I just cried out to God to strengthen me, help me. And He is faithful, He gave me peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4: 4-7) and a knowing that he is here with me - that Hannah ultimately belongs to Him, is His creation and He is the sustainer of life. Phew, what a relief - because the imagined burden of having to keep this tiny baby alive started weighing me down. Now everyday I just give her back to God and ask for His help for us as parents to raise her in His ways. I believe God is good and God is always in control (James 1:17).

So whether you are part of a parent dyad or a single parent - you do not have to be alone - call out to the Creator of all life and surrender to Him, let Him father you and your child. Because "two is better than one" (you and the Lord) and "a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Reflections on being a 30-something first time mommy

Wow, what an incredible journey we have embarked on - becoming parents. Is anyone ever really prepared for what lies ahead - days and nights of sacrificial service, nurturing this new life?

But what an awesome privilege and honor to be parents - knowing that God, our creator and heavenly Father, chose us to be the parents of this particular soul. I am eternally grateful that I know God and have a personal relationship with Jesus as my savior - this relationship colors all my experiences and give extra special meaning to them all. So I look in awesome wonder at this tiny baby in my arms - knowing she is an eternal soul - loaned to us as parents for a while.

Kahlil Gibran expresses some of these reflections:

"your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. 
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. 
Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness:
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable."

Hannah Victoria, our "soul on loan" from God

I believe that God the eternal creator is the archer, the potter, the sustainer of all life. And that He has already determined all the days of our daughter's life when as yet there were none of them. Psalm 149: 13 - 17.