Surely the stages of pregnancy so far have surprised you! Maybe you’ve had a long bout of sickness, sensed the changes in your body, had more sleepless nights, or realized that the bathroom is now your number one pit stop during your days! Pregnancy is your first introduction to giving up a part of yourself and your conveniences for your child. As you have already seen, the feeling can be a bittersweet one! We know that these aches, pains and growth lead to joy in the form of a precious baby, but the road to get there is not always easy.
As you consider your upcoming labor, it too will have stages. Your body will begin to open- releasing hormones and sending up signals that your baby is ready to meet their mama. Intuitively your body knows how to birth your baby- the motions, the tightening and releasing, and the pushing that will eventually lead to holding your new one for the first time. As you know, getting to this beautiful moment will have many bumps in the road and pain that will take your breath away at times!
God is so good to give us these little “stages” as insight to motherhood- preparing us for the long journey of motherhood ahead. Pregnancy and labor describe the pull you will feel – the tension between the beautiful and the hard- it’s the rollercoaster we ride as mothers- especially with little ones in the house.
Here’s a truth right off the bat- these stages don’t last forever. God graciously gives us seasons to ebb and flow. Your pregnancy will have an end and soon you will have your body back. Your labor will be short-lived in the grand scheme of your life, and you will soon be raising up a child. Likewise, the stages and seasons of motherhood don’t last- the woes and soreness of learning to breastfeed will go away as your body adjusts, your sleepless baby will one day sleep, and your rising and fluctuating hormones will settle back into place and you will feel “normal” again, and your post-baby body will find it’s new way back, not the same as it was, but beautiful none-the-less.
Why talk about these stages in these ways? Well, because you will find that as a mama, you will need to remember that stages don’t last; you will somehow find your way back to a full-night’s sleep, your little one won’t throw fits forever (and it will be a grace to remind yourself of that!). your floors won’t always be sticky and milk won’t always be spilled (yes, the cliché is true!). Your pre-teen won’t talk back forever and your teenager’s angst will fade.
So, give yourself grace upon grace. Let the days be messy and full. Live in the season you are in and wait in joyful anticipation of the next season and stage God has for you!
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
“He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows it’s time for setting.” Psalm 104:19
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it> I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19
I am praying for you!
Krystle and the Help Club for Moms Team
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