Monday, March 19, 2007

My Friend

Yesterday was my dear friend, Krista's, baby shower. The girls and I were there with lots of other amazing people. Sharon's home is filled with so many memories for the girls and I. Sharon and John were like parents to me while I was going through my single parent days. Their home is where Steve and I got married. Their family is like family to me.

The shower was a wonderful time. Krista's mom asked me to do a small devotional for Krista. I really didn't know exactly what that meant so I just sat down and wrote something from my heart. Sharon was so uplifting to me and gave me such amazing compliments that I couldn't read my own write-up because I kept crying. I handed it off to Coral, and she read it for me. It is my heart towards an amazing woman and my heart as a mother.

When Sharon asked me to do this I honestly couldn't think of one thing I could say about mothering. I have been a mother for 18 years and feel like I know less now then I did before Tiffani was born. I had no idea of the challenges and the blessings that this job would bring.

In Stormy Omartain's book, "The Power of a Praying Parent", she describes parenting like this.
It's the best of jobs. It's the most difficult of jobs. It can bring you the greatest joy. It can cause the greatest pain. There is nothing as fulfilling and exhilarating. There's nothing so depleting and exhausting. No area of your life can make you feel more like a success when everything is going well. No area of your life can make you feel more like a failure when things go wrong. Parenting!"

In the last 18 years I have gone through many stages in my parenting. The "I know so much" stage to the "I am a horrible mother stage." There aren't many days left that I am in the "I know so much" stage and on the days that I feel I am a horrible mother, Jesus reminds me that this is one of the greatest things he had planned for my life. He made me a mommy to 6 amazing, unique children. He has blessed me with the most amazing gift that a woman could possible receive, the gift of caring for one of God's precious people, the gift of caring for a person that he sent his son to die for. He entrusted that job to me. He chose me to be my children's mommy, just as he has chosen you, Krista, to be this tiny person's mommy.

There are many things I have done that haven't been ideal parenting. There have been times when I have just simply been selfish and blew it. But, there is one thing that I have done better than anything else in my life, and that one thing is, I have loved my children.

I have known you, Krista for 9 years. You are an incredible person. You are a true friend. You have the gift of nurturing and loving those around you unconditionally. If you are even close to being the kind of mother that you are a friend, your child will know that he is loved without condition. Already I have blessed to watch your humbleness as a wife and your love and tenderness for your child.

If there is one thing I can share with you that I am still learning everyday it is to be merciful with yourself. You are the person for this job. You have been chosen to care for and love this precious baby. God has already given you a huge heart, and he will use this tiny person to help you become all that he desires you to be. Teach him to love Jesus, pray for him and love him everyday, and someday your child will grow up and call you blessed.

Love you, Krista.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Shellie,

I decided to go back and re-read your devotional today after having several very hard days. I was in need of encouragement.

Your devotional was so special on the day of my baby shower, but what you wrote has even more depth and meaning to me now that I've been a mom for 5 1/2 months.

Everything you said is so true and so real to me now. Thank you for posting it on your blog so that I could return to it with new eyes and a new heart.

Love,
-Krista