My son is getting married next week.
MY SON IS GETTING MARRIED NEXT WEEK!!!
The reality of it all is beginning to sink in and lots of memories and emotions are swirling around my head. He is my oldest child, and though I love all my children equally, there is something only he can claim: He was my first. He was the one I learned this whole mothering thing on! It always amazes me when the oldest child turns out relatively...sane! It really is one of the most important jobs on this earth yet one the least trained for. Oh, we read baby books, mothering books, how-to everything about child rearing-but no book can prepare you for the real life that hits you the moment you hold that first sweet child in your arms. And none of the books prepare you by telling you that precious and rosy bundle of joy cooing in the bassinet beside you will turn in to a non-stop crying machine the first night you bring him home! And, they don't tell you that a love like none you have ever experienced takes over you that makes all the long nights bearable, gets you through the million diaper changes, sicknesses, late night ER visits, immunization shots and the first time you have to leave them overnight. And a million other things.
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I wrote that ^ last week...he is a married man now! Oh the emotions that have flooded my heart and mind these last few days have been glorious, scary and enlightening all in one!
Glorious: Because watching my first born love someone so completely and selflessly is amazing. Because the wedding ceremony glorified God so immensely that my heart overflows. Because I love the woman he loves and am privileged to be her mother-in law.
Scary: Because I am a mother-in-law! Because though my husbands mom is the essence of non-meddling and my own mother has been a great example in how she treats my husband, I have this extreme desire to do this mother-in-law thing right!
Enlightening: Because God amazes me again! Because all those years when you wonder if you did it right and if they will remember all the ways you messed up--you see God and His sovereignty in a light you could have never seen before. Because even though I have to cut those apron strings, my son's loving embraces with me on his wedding day assured me I would always be in his heart.
My son also graduated from college three days before his wedding! I held it together pretty good during the commencement-- right up until my husband leaned over and whispered, "This must be so amazing for you! You home schooled him! You taught him to READ!" Cue floodgates open!
Though I'm excited and want to share my joy of this last week with all my readers, this post is also an attempt to encourage you in living out God's design as a mother. Press on mom friends! Immerse yourself in God's Word. Rely on Him, His Truth and His strength alone to do what He has called you to do. Expect to make mistakes and expect for you and your child to learn so much from them. Give your child grace. Give yourself grace! And then, more and more grace!
And may you pray this prayer with St. Patrick that says it so well:
As I arise today,
may the strength of God pilot me,
the power of God uphold me,
the wisdom of God guide me.
May the eye of God look before me,
the ear of God hear me,
the word of God speak for me.
May the hand of God protect me,
the way of God lie before me,
the shield of God defend me,
the host of God save me.
May Christ shield me today.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit,
Christ when I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Amen
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
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