Happy Birthday!

So you don't think you missed this, all 3 of you that read, I backdated this (I am late posting it!) for my son's birthday...just a mommy sharing her heart.

My oldest son will be 9 years old tomorrow. In the time-line of life, I know this is relatively young, but to this mama's heart, where has the time gone???

I think back to this night, 9 years ago. I was 2 weeks overdue and ready for that baby to come! I was excited to meet him and scared of what kind of mother I would be. You know, they don't come with a manual, but I thank God that I had a mom that gave me good "Mommy Lessons." I was ready and not ready at the same time.

I know now, looking back, that I have never been the same since. There are the usual changes that happen when a child comes along: priorities change drastically, you get little sleep, and the focus of your life changes. I know that you may have heard me tell this story, but it is worth sharing on this "night before anniversary."

Many people will tell you that you do not know love until you become a parent. I remember many people telling me that you are not prepared for the feeling. I remember it so vividly, when it all changed. It had been a long day and we ended up with an emergency c-section. They showed me my 9lb 3oz little boy and then cleaned him up. They brought him to me in recovery and placed him in my arms. Whoa!!!! I don't think you can be prepared for that. The love that goes through you. The love that God gives you for this tiny little baby. The next thought in my head was "Oh, how much God must love me!!!" The thought of giving that child up for anyone! I truly understood the love of God and my salvation as I never had before. The depths of His great love for me.....the willingness for Him to sacrifice His Son for a sinner like me...I remember all of this going through my mind as I held this little baby. I thank God that He showed me all this in the first moments I held my son. It truly changed me and began a desire to grow stronger in my faith, a process that will continue until I meet Him face to face!

I think of what God has let me see in the life of my child in the past 9 years. The milestones and the things that only a mama would see....the first time he slept all night long (2 weeks old...the Lord knows I don't do well on little sleep!)..the first GI Joe crawl...the first words...a seizure that scared us all...the first steps...his first friends...the first time he got bit/hit a church nursery..those little arms hugging me...his beach trips with his Gi and Poppi..his wonderful days of preschool...his excitement when he became a big brother...his sadness when his brother was in NICU and he was not allowed in...the love he gave his brother when a nice nurse let him in to see "his baby!"...the growth into a big boy...the joy of being his teacher and teaching him to read!!...the day he gave his life to Christ..the joy of his baptism...watching him understand and grow in his faith..the little things he says and does that make me laugh. I always tell him that I am sooo glad that God let me be his mommy!

Tonight, the night before my baby turns 9, I rejoice in what God has done in his short life, I thank Him for letting me be a part of it, and I pray for the days and years to come, that I am the mother that God wants me to be.

Thanks for sharing this night with me.