The time has come to announce that my husband and I are having our first baby! Doctors told us the due date is officially January 3rd. I cannot begin to tell you all of the emotions I have been having these past 14 weeks. The excitement and joy of knowing we are bringing another life into this world is overwhelming. The realness of the responsibility we have for this child becomes more and more apparent. Knowing this child is inside my body, yet not having control over what may take place, gives faith a new perspective for me. Putting my trust in the Lord through every emotion, (at times easier than others), every foreign feeling inside my body, and every ounce of fear or unknowns.
Questions began to race through my mind as soon as we found out I was pregnant. Will it be a boy or a girl? What will life be like with another little person in our family? What will marriage look like now? What kind of mom will I be?
As I begin to go down this new journey of motherhood and bringing a new life into the world, it makes me think of when I decided to start my new life with Christ. A lot of these emotions I’m having are similar to when I decided to die to my old life and begin living a new life in Christ. Talk about crazy mixed emotions!
I would say that I very much like to be in control. I like knowing what the plan is, having a routine, and knowing I’m prepared for what’s to come. Well…..once I became a Christian, my idea of control completely changed. I had to let go of what “I” wanted for my life and start knowing more of who Jesus is in order to see what “He” wanted for my life. I’m so thankful that He knows the plans he has for our lives. He wants us to prosper and not harm us. He wants to give us hope and a future.
As we bring this new baby into the world, I have a responsibility to show Christ’s love to this child. I want nothing more than for this child to grow up knowing who Jesus is and how much He loves them. It is the most important thing they will ever know. It is going to be Tim and my job to build a firm foundation for our child so that they can understand what truth is. When thinking about this, it reminded me of the parable of the sower
Matthew 13:18-23
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
I pray that the Lord will give me strength to lead my child in the direction that will glorify Him. I pray he will equip me with everything I will need in order to raise this child to love Him. My pastor once said, “Lead your kids to an environment that will lead them to Christ.” It’s not our job to make our child love Jesus. That is ultimately their decision. It will be our job to lead them in the direction that will lead them to Christ.
Life is such a gift. I’m so thankful God gave us a life that we can glorify Him.
No matter where you’re at in life, whether you are experiencing a new season, something unknown, tremendous joy, or utter heartbreak, I encourage you to take this challenge with me. Focus on building and directing your life in order to serve him. That is ultimately what we are called to do. I challenge you to take some time to really dive into the following verses about what Jesus calls us to do:
CHALLENGE
Ephesians 2:10 (mmmm I love this one!)