Menu
The miracle of motherhood
Some women take to motherhood like a duck takes to water. It seems as though they were made to have babies. They conceive easily and in due course present healthy, chubby offspring with a minimum of fuss.
I write this on the 30th anniversary of the birth of our eldest child, Benjamin. Not so easily conceived, he surprised all of us with an early arrival and was anything but chubby. His early arrival was punctuated by his penchant for turning blue for no apparent reason. Soon enough the problem was diagnosed and treated and we brought him home, still well under five pounds when he was nine days old. Thankfully, he has traversed the intervening 30 years in good health, with only a few stitches and scars.
I understood on only the most basic level following the birth of our third child 25 years ago, that, for me, motherhood was nothing short of a miracle.
The condition was discovered during the caesarean delivery of our second child, Lisa. Believe me, you do not want to be in the operating room at 2 o'clock in the morning and hear your obstetrician, a man of significant years, say, "Well, I've never seen anything like that before" while looking at your innards. Thankfully, Lisa was already safely delivered and was being carefully tended by a neonatal pediatrician specializing in premature babies. I didn't understand much at the time, but I did understand that the anomaly that caused such an outburst was mine, not hers.
Further investigation reveals that the condition is most likely called unicornuate uterus. I have half a uterus, hence half the room most moms provide for a baby's early development. Typically, this condition also makes conception more difficult. I say typically, because in our case conception was difficult for Ben and Lisa, but Patrick proved the exception, arriving at a whopping 6 pounds even a mere 10 months and 10 days after his sister.
At odd moments I am wont to ponder why God chose to visit the miracle of motherhood upon me, not once, not twice, but three wonderful times.
Was it because I would be such an excellent mother?
Would that it were. The plain truth is I sometimes wish for the opportunity to re-parent my children, my lack of wisdom and understanding so clearly demonstrated in some of their actions. Patrick, who spoke early and well, utilizing a vocabulary that astonished his primary grade teachers, now all too often resorts to crude, four-letter words to express himself. Perhaps a bit more soap?
Lisa is often a bit too forthright with little consideration for the ears of her audience. How does one teach circumspection?
And Ben's laissez faire attitude, mayhap I was a bit too laid back with him...
Perhaps it was because God knew that I could be trusted to raise my three miracles faithfully in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Evidence says otherwise. Though each one accepted the gospel message and presented themselves in obedience to be baptized into the Lord, they are only occasionally found in a house of worship come Sunday morning. How I wish I had given them a deep and passionate hunger for the Word and the will of God. Certainly he isn't done with any of them yet, anymore than he's finished with me.
I'm running out of options here ... perhaps God chose to bless me simply because it was my heart's desire for as long as I can remember to be a mother. And since I am his own dear daughter, he longed to give me the desire of my heart.
Nope. That can't be it. For I know far too many other daughters who have petitioned the Lord with many tears for the privilege of motherhood. Faithful daughters, daughters who serve tirelessly, witness faithfully and walk in purity. They remain bereft of the miracle though each one is more deserving than me.
It can only mean one thing. My three miracles have come to pass in order that God himself may be glorified.
And so he is, though the glory is somewhat overdue. So, if you see one of my miracles, look upon them and give the glory to God, for all that they are and all that they will ever be.
Come to think of it, the next time you encounter your own image in a store window or in the bathroom mirror, give the glory to God for all that you are and all that you will ever be.