Celebrating Motherhood Once More

The following is a talk Emily gave at a baby shower last year. I thought it was great and worth sharing with you…

Well, this feels a bit like déjà vu, doesn't it?

We've been here before but it's been a while. Just a few years back, we were sitting in another living room celebrating & anticipating your FIRST baby., and now here we are anticipating your seventh. You could write one of these now! Thomas Boston says, "God determines the numbers and names of every man’s children." We didn't know what the Lord had in store for you at that first shower but now we can look back and praise God for each child He has blessed your family with.

But how did that happen?

It doesn't feel that long ago... yet when you pause and think about it... it has! Years go by so easily. Where you once were green and wet behind the ears, you have now become seasoned and mature. With Henry, you had some of that nervous energy all new moms have, not totally knowing what's around the corner. But now you know this path. It's a familiar trail. Sure, there are hurdles, bumps and undulations that are different each go-round. But you are more experienced. God has grown you and now you know how to take much in stride.

So this afternoon I wanted to encourage you in three ways as you embark on this new journey with little Rosalind.

First of all, soak her UP!

I'm sure you are all too eager to oblige. Envelope her in your arms. Clasp her close to your heart. Rub your nose against her nose. Kiss the top of her head and breathe her in deeply. Enjoy her. Enjoy noticing every little detail about her: how much hair she has, the color of her eyes, the number of rolls on each arm and leg. Watch how her eyes twinkle when she sees you, sees her papa, sees her siblings. Listen to her first coos, then the sweet gibberish where she CLEARLY has SOMETHING to say, and finally her first words! How fun it is when they come up with funny little words or mispronunciations, and then they are adopted into your family's vocabulary. In these ways, treasure your little girl.

As you delight in Rosalind, may it remind you of how much your Heavenly Father delights in you. May it spur you on to prayer, to talk with God. Rejoice and recount to God of the good things in your life. Give Him praise for how He has poured out blessings on you richly. Cultivate a thankful heart.

As you encounter nursing challenges, are tired from interrupted sleep, feel stretched as you establish a new normal as a family of nine, pour your tears out to Him. Know you are not to face this alone. Cast your cares upon Him for He cares for you. In your weaknesses, let Him be your strength.

Secondly, do your best to slow DOWN.

When it's time for her nurse, sit down in a comfortable spot, put your feet up and drink some water. When she naps, try also to nap.

John Cunningham Geiki was a Scottish Presbyterian minister who served in Canada in the 1800s. Charles Spurgeon said he was, "one of the best religious writers of the age." Dr. Geikie wrote a book, entitled Life, and it opens with these words: “Some things God gives often: some He gives only once. The seasons return again and again, and the flowers change with the months, but youth comes twice to none.”

These childhood years are so fleeting, especially the early ones. So slow down and don't feel guilty about it one bit! Take the time to read stories and poems to Rosalind and her siblings. Sing her silly made-up songs and lullabies, songs, and hymns and spiritual songs. Play games like patty cake, peekaboo and this little piggy. Lap games trot, little pony, popcorn, and cuckoo clock. Get down on the floor and do tummy time together. Tummy time is always better with a friend! Get out the shape sorters and chunky puzzles, the Calico critters and baby dolls. Relax and be rejuvenated by her childishness.

As you rest with Rosalind, may it remind you to rest in the Lord. May it spur you on to be regularly in the Word. It will refresh your soul unlike anything else. Jesus is the source of true Living Waters. Drink deeply from His well and you will never thirst again. There will be a temptation to look elsewhere to find your rest--a clean house, a beach vacation, a good-but none will satisfy. Continue to go straight to our Lord. He will not fail you. He will fill your cup to overflowing.

Lastly, pour it OUT. Give her everything you've got. Your love. Your patience. Your strength. Your long-suffering. Your endurance. Your wisdom. Your faith. This life is not a sprint but a marathon. We are running a race set before us. We are Pilgrims passing through to the heavenly realm. One of the greatest ways that you can help pass the baton of faith to this new generation, to your child, is to live a life pursuing godliness. By your example, she will see how a Christian woman ought to live. How you conduct yourself when you think nobody is watching. How you cultivate the attitudes of your heart. Cheerful? Smiling? Grumbling? Complaining? How you speak of and treat your husband, her father. How you lovingly discipline her & her siblings. How you shape the atmosphere and culture of your home. How you confess and repent of your own sin. How you love Christ's church. How you show hospitality to others. How you testify of your Savior before the watching world.

By the grace of God, in time, our natural family becomes also our eternal spiritual family. But rest assured, knowing her salvation comes not by your might or by your power, but by the Holy Spirit. He will use many things to minister to your little one. His works mightily through His Word and prayer. He also uses His bride, the Church, to execute the purpose of His will. Continue to attend your local church regularly so that she worships God corporately and hears the word preached. The elders and Titus 2 women and other church members will help you and Jon in raising her. And don't discount the accounts of testimonies of saints that have gone before us, like her namesake, Rosalind Goforth. We stand on the shoulders of giants. We benefit greatly from their faithfulness and wisdom. May God be glorified and work through it all.

In closing, I want to share the wise words of Reverend James Russel Miller, a Presbyterian minister & author:

"Oh, that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a baby is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny—she would see that in all God’s world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given to her…"

This is my prayer for you and all of us here: that we would see that the work we do as mothers is holy work, some of the best kind.

Let's pray.