Called To Be A Mom ( A letter to my neice on the day of her baby shower.)

 Jordan,

 

 Today we will all gather together in that crazy ritual known as the “baby shower” where friends and family come together, bringing gifts, playing silly games, we will eat good food as we celebrate and help you prepare for the birth of your first born child.

 There will be a gift there from us, but I wanted to give you something different also, so I write these words for you from my heart.

  Soon you will experience that wonderful moment, the one like nothing else you have ever experienced, nor will there ever be anything to top it, whereby they place that tiny child into your hands, where you gaze upon him for the first time, where you marvel at his perfection, his beauty and where your heart will be filled with a love unlike anything you have ever known. In fact, on that moment you will utterly lose your heart and the person that has been Jordan will in many ways cease to exist and you will become Mom. This losing of you is not a bad thing, in fact it is a wonderful miraculous thing!

 Being Mom has shaped me, changed me, taught me in so many different ways, and it is the thing of which I am most proud in my life, it has been my calling, my purpose and I am forever grateful to God that He called me to be Mom as He is now calling you to be Mom.

 Cherish the moments, hold them close to your heart, and write them down, for these moments pass all too soon. The tiredness, the worry, the frustrations can block out these moments if you are not careful.  When standing by a crib at 2:00 AM, holding a fussy child when all your body wants and craves is a few moments of sleep it is difficult to cherish the moment, the smell of the child, the feel of him against your chest, the grace of the moment where you have been given this blessing of life can easily be overshadowed by the tiredness that motherhood brings. You will fail in achieving this sometimes, the frustration and the tiredness will win, that’s okay, it’s not an easy thing to do, but endeavor to live in the moment, rejoice in the moment, and have faith in the moment for in truth all we have is the right here, right now and each moment is a precious thing.

 Try to hold fast to the wonder of it all, for one day, and you will not know it when this day comes, you will hold them in that way for the last time. One day you will change the last diaper, you will prepare the last bottle, you will struggle with the car seat for the last time, you will dress them for the last time, and you will wipe their nose for the last time (although I confess you will feel the need to do it for them even when they are adults!) The moments are fleeting Jordan; you won’t easily see this yourself, for it is more easily seen from the perspective of those of us who have done these things for the last time. Cherish the moments!

   There will be so many wonderful firsts to celebrate…..his first smile, the first time he rolls over, the first time he crawls, his first steps, his first words, the delight he takes as he sees new things, touches new things, smells and tastes new things, the wonder of it all as you are graced with the task of showing him this big and beautiful world! There will be wonderful Christmas memories, Halloween costumes, birthday parties and sporting events and wonder upon wonder as you watch this child grow!

  And there will be the hard firsts. That first time you drop him off at a daycare or school, where he is with people who are not family, not you…..and that first day when he cries as you drop him off and you must walk away, the first time he is sick, the first time he is hurt by someone, the first time he faces a bully, the first time his heart is broken, the first time he makes a bad mistake, the first time he loses faith in himself, the first time he doubts he can do something, the first time he tastes defeat, …….the hard things of life will hurt, they will break your heart, but cover these things in your prayers from the moment you first hold him, God is faithful, He is shaping a man and He has blessed you to carry all these things in your heart.

Pray Jordan, pray every single day, whisper a thousand prayers, whisper them as he sleeps, as you hold him in your arms, as you watch him crawl and take his first steps……pray, pray, always pray, cover him with a hundred thousand prayers, enough to cover him all the days of his life, for there will be things you cannot protect him from, he will go places that you will not go, he will face moments that you will be unable to step in front of him, nor should you. These are the most difficult times to be a Mom; these are the times when your heart feels as if it will surely die. I have no idea how Mom’s do it without a sure faith in God. Cling to the cross and pray, for God is faithful and God will walk with him all the days of his life and in all the places where you cannot follow. God is with him, and remember always that God loves this child even more than you do! Yet another marvelous truth to rejoice in!

 You will struggle with that last one. How can it be possible that anyone could love this child more than you? You who would lay down life and limb, you would give all your tomorrows to ensure life for this child, you who would willingly endure any hardship, any struggle, take on all the pain, all the sorrow to ensure peace and happiness for the child can find it difficult to truly understand that God loves even more and His love is a pure and perfect one, that will ever seek that which is best for the child. Find rest in that sure knowledge. Whatever comes, God has it all, and He will see you through it.

  So live these years slow, cherish the moments, practice living a life of gratitude and wonder for this beautiful life that God is placing into your hands, this wonderful calling that God is calling you to…….the calling of Mom. Pray, pray and pray some more, pray the prayers on your knees, the prayers on your face, the tired whispered prayers as your head hits the pillow, the joyful prayers as you live out the moments of wonder and beauty…..pray…..pray….pray!  God will guide you, strengthen you, shape you, hold you and use you, in this glorious work He is doing as He brings forth into the world a new little boy child!

 You are going to be a wonderful Mom Jordan Ortega!

 

  Your Auntie Donna