I just love all the belly bump pictures that have flooded social media in recent years. I never let one go by that I don’t stop and pray for that happy Lil mumma. I smile, tilt my head and with a knowing glance I think… “Lil mumma that bump is going to wreck your world.”
It happened to me.
As I write today, it just happens to be the birthday of my first born, Brett. He’s all grown up and is a dad himself now but to me his arrival all those years ago seems like yesterday.
I remember my own baby bump and though we didn’t photograph it back then, I remember that exact same pose in the mirror. Hugging my shirt to see his body that bulged my belly. I remember being in awe that a person was growing inside me and I remember the smile I saw reflected in the mirror looking back at me. Yes the same kind I see in your baby bump photos. Moms realizing they are moms. Pure Joy.
I was thrilled and amazed and excited, but….
Little did I know my life would never be the same, EVER. My life as I knew it was about to crumbled as if a wrecking ball had slammed into it.
I had no idea that every ounce of my energy for a few years was going to go into just trying to keep him alive.
Can you relate?
This little adorable creature that I had carried safely in my belly was now on the changing table and could fall off if I didn’t handle him completely right.
The responsibility was overwhelming and never in my life had I felt more inadequate. My man felt the same. We would spend the evenings just looking at him thankful that he was fed, bathed and about to go to sleep.
My daydream life as a mom strolling a cooing baby in the park was now a nightmare of him choking on the cats hairballs.
Ok… fast forward. He made it. We made it and YOU WILL MAKE IT TOO! It will all work out.
You don’t have to know everything. But you do need to know this one thing.
God created you for this and you can do it!
Truth: The gravidity of being a mother (or father) is one of the greatest responsibilities ever taken on by a human. You should take it seriously. Humans little and big are the most valuable thing to God. And when He chose to send His son to earth you know where he placed him?
In a mother’s arms.
Mothering is one of the most vital and foundationally important roles in the world. And as a mother YOU are the best option for your baby. I’d like to say that is an exaggeration but I don’t think it is.
Our culture may act like any person can tend and nurture your child but the truth is … that’s a lie. And that’s why it can wreck your world.
Something happens to a woman when she becomes a mother. God was very intentional to place within a mother’s heart and mind the strongest instinct to protect and care for a baby. And just like that the “all about me” mentality and flips it into “what about them?” reality and we love it.
It’s why moms smile and pose with their baby bumps. It’s why we willingly have our stomachs stretched and organs get shoved into weird positions. It’s why we gladly go through labor and delivery. Motherhood does wreck life, as we know it.
It’s a truth that can’t be denied. But, ask any mom and they will tell you that from the wreckage and stretched belly came a life they wouldn’t change for the world.
The best conversations happen in the comments. So tell me about your baby bump and your feelings about motherhood below.
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