A Thousand Words in One Picture

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I would have to agree. A thousand words. A thousand feelings. A thousand lessons. Today, my son turned one year old! I feel like it snuck up on me out of nowhere. As I was looking through pictures, I came across this one- one of my favorites.  Here are some of the reasons I love this picture.

I love this picture because it brings me joy.

It had been 40+ weeks of carrying this little boy, praying for him, talking to him, talking about him, and wondering what he would be like- and here he was, finally! The heartburn, the aches, the pains, all resulted in this moment! After a long day of labor, I remember breaking down and just telling my husband and friend there with me, “I just want to meet him.” What sweet joy it is to see the result of hard work and time come to fruition!

I love this picture because it humbles me.

My first labor with my daughter resulted in a C-section, to my huge disappointment. It was something I was dead set against right from the beginning.  God taught me a lot from that experience and I repented of wrong attitudes surrounding it. I headed into my son’s birth with much more knowledge, a changed heart, and a lot of preparation to take on this VBAC. It was still a constant battle in my prayers to not to submit to fear and worry. Well, the days went by, labor had to be induced, I did everything I could, and God answered with a no.  Looking at this picture reminds me of the difficulty it is to humbly acknowledge that I cannot do everything. To humbly acknowledge that I cannot control it all. Phew humbling, and above all encouraging to know the God who does control it- deeply loves me.

I love this picture because it makes me thankful.

One of the things that was hard on me was not being able to hold April for a little while during my first labor. I was unable to hold her until I was done in surgery and taken back to the other room. While I was pregnant with my second I had requested to be able to hold him as soon as possible. They all agreed, but I really did not think it would actually happen.  Thankfully I was able to have a better reaction to the numbing, my hands were not strapped, and they actually let me hold my son minutes after he was born. It was something little, but I still think of that, and thank God for granting me that ability amidst it all. (I even got scolded by the doctor who was trying to stitch me up, to stop rocking him haha!) It is a reminder of God’s grace to me even in the littlest of things.

I love this picture because it gives me perspective.

It can be so extremely silly (and downright wrong) when we get stuck on feeling sorry for what hasn’t happened to us… and we forget about- what hasn’t happened to us! (See this post for more on that, which convicted and encouraged me!) Sometimes I can get sucked in my own little world and forget about the reality of how much I have been given.  It reminds me to not only give thanks, but reminds me to get on my knees in prayer for others who are in significant struggles, to be an encouragement, a prayer warrior, and a comforter!

The lessons this boy is teaching me started at his birth (and even before that)! I can’t imagine the ways God will use him to mold me in the years to come. Happy birthday baby boy!