I am here to meet your needs

Often, when my children wake up in the night, I rush to their side and murmur, "Mama's here, mama's here". Often with tenderness; other times with exhaustion; and sometimes, I'm sad to say, with frustration at yet another hour of sleep interrupted.

As I whispered it to Cole this afternoon, waking from his nap rather violently, I took delight in being there for him...gently nursing him back into slumber so that he could later wake with renewed energy for life again.

To me, the phrase "I am here to meet your needs" describes the essence of mothering young ones. God designed Mothers to be the lifegivers for their young. We see it throughout His creation; and most eloquently in His image-bearers, humankind.

Without a supplement (formula, a wet nurse...), infants would literally die without the sustenance their Mother's milk provides. Without touch, infants will not thrive. Without someone to listen to and respond to their needs, babies are helpless! By design, their cry demands an answer.

And God's answer was Mama. The person He created to constantly care for a baby. To nourish him; cradle him; smile at him; talk to him; care for him...to love him by meeting his every need, no matter what.

It is a truly noble calling.

At the same time, it often seems to be this precise round-the-clock neediness that can feel totally overwhelming, can't it? I recall sitting on my bed in the wee hours of the morning a few days after Graeme's birth. His was a c-section, so I was dealing with surgery recovery, which I found to be much worse, hormonally, than my natural birth with Cole. Anyhow, I sat on my bed, nursing Graeme for what seemed like the fourth time already that night, and I just started weeping as it struck me: I would never be an independent human being again. Yes, marriage is a dependent-relationship...my husband definitely needs me =) But nothing like a baby needs me, especially a nursing baby. I realized that, for the foreseeable future, I would be tied to a needy little one who would demand my attention, whether direct or indirect, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There would be no "recess", no "lunch break" - no "vacation" from parenting.

Having a baby makes you unselfish, whether you're willing to be or not!

It was a process, for me, though, to accept my design. Then it took awhile more for me to embrace it. I think that will be a story I share another day, as (speaking of meeting needs) it's time to finish dinner preparations and help my boys share the tape measure. Ha!

Some pictures from our last few weeks...