In Celebration

I love you forever, I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.  Robert Munsch

She sang outside my study window. I wondered what made her so happy. Then one day when I was outside, I saw her fly out of a decorative pot of foliage. Peeking in I discovered a nest containing four speckled eggs. And then I knew -- she was rejoicing over her children yet unborn.

I remember those days of joyful waiting.  Nine long years of wishing, hoping, then tears of disappointment.  Over and over.  Disappointed so many times that my friend, Janet, had to tell me she thought I was expecting. 

Throughout the last 
couple weeks we peeked in on those eggs often.  We celebrated when one bird hatched. And let me tell you, baby birds are not nearly as cute as I imagined. It took them a while to grow their feathers but oh, are they ever adorable! And our Momma sings her song of rejoicing -- this time over children born.

I, too, sing over my children born. I celebrate who they have grown to be. I look at them and see little girls with Shirley Temple curls, black patent  shoes, and happy smiles. I see Melanie reading her Bible with little sister beside her, reading hers upside down. I see report cards, baptisms and piano lessons.

All those have been rejoiced over. Today, I look at them and see girls earnestly seeking God's best.  I see Melanie's daily choice to put family and home first. I see her reaching out to others and teaching her children by example. I see the results of memorized Scripture and Debi Pearl's Created to Be His Helpmeet and To Train up a Child. I see other books underlined and prayed over as she seeks to be a missionary right in her home, guiding her children to heaven.

I see Emily's joyful spirit and servant heart. I see her creativity and diligence in every college project. I see her "putting first things first" as she waits to begin a life with the man she loves. I see how she accepts life's difficulties, using lemons for lemonade. I see how fiercely she protects and nurtures her friendships.

Isn't that what mothering is all about? Celebrating daily the children entrusted to you? As life changes, I continue to celebrate. My heart rejoices as I see them grow in grace.  Because I have no greater joy than to know my children are walking in the truth (3 John 1:4).

The bird and I are on opposite ends of the mothering spectrum. Yet if you paused at the door of our home, you would hear happy chirping on the outside and slightly-off-key singing on the inside. With the mother of our Savior, I'm keeping all these things to [my]self, holding them dear, deep within [my]self (Luke 2:19).

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