Dear New Mom during Covid Crisis,
I have thought a lot about you the last few weeks. It has been a long time since I was a new mom. I fear this means I won’t remember how it felt or have words to encourage you. Still, the first time I became I mom, I was small and frail. Internally. Definitely not externally. 😉
I knew nothing about motherhood and didn’t often know how to ask for help. In many ways, becoming a first time mother is naturally self isolating. The world we live in makes every choice a controversy – whether to breastfeed or not, whether to let your baby cry it out or not, whether to go back to work or stay home or some combination. And then, there are the baby blues, or worse, postpartum depression.
Motherhood, though it is beautiful and wonderful and we learn a love we’ve never known, is also a naturally fearful time. During this pandemic, the fears and anxieties are heightened. So though I am not you, I want to come alongside you, and hold your hand or give you a hug or hold the baby for a few minutes while you sleep, and the only way I can do that right now is through these words. I want more than anything for you to know that you are seen, loved, known, and not alone.
There is a God who sees you. El Roi. El Roi sees into your home. The joy, the chaos, the beauty, the stress, the questions, the worries, the unknowns. He not only sees into your home, He sees right into your heart.
God sees your baby too. He intimately designed her/him in the womb. God has a plan and purpose for your babe, and you, dear mama, get to steward that little one in it, even now. Even if it is just by feeding him, holding him, and napping with him. These simple acts are mighty in the Kingdom of God.
El Roi also knows you. He knows the numbers of hairs on your head, from the ones you had during pregnancy to the ones you lost after. He bottles and numbers your tears as well. God knows how many sleepless nights you’ve had. He knows whether you’ve had to be even more isolated during this time than you would have some other time. The Father has heard your singing, your lullabying, and your praying, and dear one, He does those things over you. He knows if you need help or not, whether you’ve struggled being alone or not. Whether motherhood comes naturally to you or not. With Jesus, you don’t have to be strong, mighty, or brave. He will provide those things when you need them.
He knows your baby too. Our Father knows why s/he cries. He knows why s/he is frustrated. He knows what your baby likes to eat. Inside and out, your baby is already known. Simply ask God to show you what He already knows.
He is with you. Emmanuel. You, dear mother, are not alone. You are simply loved, and you are a treasure. In Christ, you’ve been given a treasure trove of inheritance. As you learn, your legacy of walking with God will go on to your adored child.
He is with your child, stewarding a story in your precious babe.
God is There – Jehovah Shammah. At the end. From beginning to end, God is for you on your motherhood journey. Whatever suffering and qualms you have to go through, He will see you through them.
So as you come to your first mother’s day, a day when you could have gathered with your loved ones or been recognized for the first time at church as a new mom, know that you are seen — in your joy, beauty, and desperation. God knows you. Intricately. You are not alone, though you may feel small, frail, inadequate, and fragile, or even more — mighty and merry. You are a mother for such a time as this, and He will see you through.
xoxo,
A mom of tweens and teens
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