Motherhood. The mere word itself elicits feelings all over the spectrum. For some those are feelings of joy and fulfillment, for others sadness and loss, and others are holding space in the middle for both. There is sanctification taking place no matter how you hold this title. This we know for sure.
Whether you set forth on this journey of motherhood with an elated and expectant heart or you found yourself there frightened and unsure. I promise you, there is another in the fire (Daniel 3:25)
As you travel down this road that leads to hearts full or hearts grieving (or both) There is one who goes before you and will never leave you or forsake you. So do not be afraid or discouraged (Deuteronomy 31:8)
When you feel you have lost your way and your strength is failing from the growing and the stretching, the guiding and the teaching or from the darkness and confusion, the sadness and the loss...There is One who says to you “I will be with you always (Matthew 28:20)
When your weakness and inabilities are all you can see, there is One who says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Coronthians 12:9)
When they have grown and you have grown or motherhood has turned into something you never thought or expected at all. Yet through both the joy and the pain you have changed and find peace...there is One who says “They will know that I am the LORD their God...” (Exodus 29:46)
Genesis 1:27-28a reads, So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number...” When I look at Motherhood through the lens of Creation versus how we all have taken part in defining it, it is the words “be fruitful” that stand out to me today. I am realizing after 25 years of this journey, including both a full and grieving heart, that it is not so much about the action of being fruitful but rather the cultivation of the fruit that determines how I perceive and walk through all of it!
I hope to encourage you today, no matter where you find yourself in this motherhood journey, that you are not waking alone. Thankfully it is not by our own strength and abilities that we walk out this role. We have access to God and the Holy Spirit within us willing and working on our behalf! Cultivating the fruit...Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
No matter what thoughts, experiences, circumstances, trials or emotions we face and endure in our journey of motherhood we are reminded we aren’t called to do this on our own. When we realize that we don’t have to control but rather release our control, ideals and expectations so that we are walking this out with the Holy Spirit as our guide...it is then that the necessary fruit will grow!
So wherever you are on this journey, whatever comes up for you today, I pray you are reminded, comforted and encouraged to know that you are not in this alone. The master gardener is tending to our hearts through it all.
Live Loved,
Melissa
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