This too shall pass, but do I want it to?

I found myself thinking back this morning to Mother’s Day 2007. We had both sets of grandparents visiting and Rachel was just about six weeks old or so. Anyway, I woke up insanely early, I think around 4:30 a.m., with Rachel, and then never got back to sleep…so instead of breakfast in bed, or anything like that, Mom was up waaaay before anybody else, feeding baby and getting ready for church. I was a little irritated that day 🙂

Yesterday, we were running late to church and I was feeling very overwhelmed and wondering how I will ever be able to take care of 3 children and get us all ANYWHERE on time. (I’m specifically wondering how Naomi is going to make it to the bus stop after my parents go home!!) I thought about that Mother’s Day and told myself, “At least on the next Mother’s Day, Sarah will be about 8 months old and this will all be over.” I was fantasizing about having a baby that sleeps through the night, a family that is on a schedule.

But then I had to stop myself. Sure, I can’t wait until we all get a little more sleep. But I have been dreaming of having a newborn baby again and I refuse to “wish away” these first months just because we run a little behind schedule and we are a little tired. I wake up in the morning now with Sarah next to me in bed, kind of punching me with her tiny hands in the area of my body she knows only as her personal milk source.  Her middle name is “Joy” and it was carefully chosen…The Bible tells us to “Count it all joy, whenever you face trials of any kind,” (James 1:2) and “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). This surely includes the trials of middle-of-the-night feedings. Sarah is a reminder to me to count it all as joy, every minute and every day with her and her sisters.