I have been hearing God speak to me during this new season of becoming a mom, that the inturrptions are invitations. I have never felt so interrupted in my life! Some of the interruptions have felt glorious and surprising- like the sweetness of this boy, his smile, his soft baby head, and the joy he brings us. Some of them have been hard to get used to- like sitting down to write, eat or work and needing to stop to care for Ethan. The pace I had before I simply cannot keep. Yet, there is an invitation for him to join us and be a part of our working, living, and creating. He gets to watch and learn, and we get to have him here with us on the journey.
“Greater love has no one than this- than he who lays down his life for his friends.”
-John 15:13
Wow. Motherhood is in invitation to love like Jesus loved us. It invites me to humble myself, and to put another's needs before my own. It uncovers both my weaknesses and new strengths I didn't know I had. It invites me to lay down my life in a way I have not yet experienced even in marriage and in missions work. It also invites me to savor this little boy, his life starting and growing, and the beauty that comes with that. It’s like a miracle that I get to see unfold before my eyes and hold close. I think God in His mercy is helping me to not just be overwhelmed by the interruptions but to accept them as invitations into the beautiful things motherhood and fatherhood will bring us and will produce in us.
I wanted to share that- because when I think of it, feeling interrupted is not just exclusive to parenthood. I think we ALL felt interrupted this year by this virus and the circumstances of the world. I think we have all felt inturruped, disappointed, delayed and frustrated sometime on this life journey. I see an invitation into things that are most important. Our life is but a breath and we can get so concerned with our own preoccupations and things that are temporary. The kingdom of God is everlasting. God has things on his heart for us that really matter. Sometimes we don’t even notice. I want to be sensitive to hear and follow God. I want to allow him to speak to me and lead, even in the interruptions. I think God has more songs to give me about the things I am learning in these days. I feel like a humble student before Him. And at the same time, I feel like Michael and I have received one of the greatest gifts of our life this year- Ethan.
I pray, truly, that if any of you find yourself wrestling with inturruptions and difficulties now in these days, may God give you his eyes to see the invitation He is extending to you. He is here, in the middle of it, and above it all.