Since Little Trevor is 4 weeks old today and Big Man Jakob turned 20 months old two days ago I have been reflecting on life as a mother of two. As we get to see more of our friends and introduce Trevor to them, some common questions are “how are you feeling?”, “how is Jakob adjusting to his younger brother?”, and “how is it being a mother of two now?” And my thoughts always turn to how blessed and thankful I am. God has been very gentle, gracious and merciful to our family during this transition. A quick and healthy delivery. A quick physical recovery after birth. A sweet baby with a mild and content demeanor. A baby that sleeps well at night. A Grandma and Grandpa who are right downstairs to lend a helping hand when needed. All of these things I see as the gentle and gracious hand of God helping me adjust. I know that I don't deserve any of these blessings, and it can easily be different. But in spite of all these blessings, there is something specific that has really encouraged my soul during this adjustment period and it is Ecclesiastes 4:4-5 which says,”
He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
Our pastor recently preached through the book of Ecclesiastes. And when he preached the sermon that covered these verses it tremendously encouraged my soul as I was adjusting to being a mother of two. Basically he said that there are risks in life, but evaluating the risks in life should not lead you to inaction. He said that there can be a paralysis of analysis, which means that if you analyze something too much it can lead you to paralysis. Fear can be a prison to your mind. It can paralyze you to inaction.
I think this is exactly what happened after the birth of my first son. As I evaluated all of the common activities of daily life I concluded that there were a lot more risks and hardships involved now that I was a mother. Those risks and hardships caused me to fear and be paralyzed. It was harder to get out of the house to run errands because as a new mother I had to figure out how go grocery shopping and also nurse my new baby at the right times. I didn’t go a lot of places because I didn’t know how to go out and also care for my baby at the same time. The hardships I focused on led me to be paralyzed with fear and life seemed to pause until I figured it out.
After the birth of my second son I didn’t want to go through that again. Shortly after Trevor was born my husband asked me if I was up to going to church. I said yes for I was eager to get out of the house. Physically I was blessed with a quick recovery from Trevor’s birth. I knew from my struggles adjusting the first time to motherhood, that if I stayed home all of the time that I tend to get very introspective and consumed with myself. Getting of the house and “continuing” with life helps me to get my eyes off myself. I am so thankful that we went to church that Sunday, because that is when I heard our pastor preach on these verses.
Being a mother of two definitely has its adjustments. I am more distracted now having two boys to look after. It takes more time to get them ready and get of the house. It is harder to get to places on time. Things are unpredictable. But instead of evaluating all of these “hardships” and “risks” and concluding that it is too hard, I am encouraged by Ecclesiastes 4:4-5. Life is full of risks, but don’t allow that to cause you to be paralyzed into inaction.
Seems like such a simple and common sense concept. But I love it when the Word of God reminds us of truth like this. It really has helped me adjust to being a mother of two. And the best part about the Word of God is that it is applicable to many situations. I can see this truth encouraging my soul when we move to the Philippines and we are adjusting to life in another country. I hope the Spirit of God will bring these truths to mind at that time. And these verses are encouraging for our support raising efforts. There are many risks, hardships and fears involved with raising support. But that shouldn’t lead us to inaction. We can trust our good, faithful and wise God for He promises to help, shepherd and lead us into more Christlikeness. So what is there to fear?
What a blessing from our good God to impart such encouragement to you from his Word. As a mother-of-one about to embark on this new journey of mothering two, I can attest to the fact that there is still so much I do not know. But you have encouraged my own heart in sharing your experience and directed my heart back to the Savior.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Elizabeth Kirkland