7KH6DFULȴFHRI Motherhood

The Sacrice of

Motherhood

W R I T T E N B Y M E A G A N T A Y L O R

I thank God for showing me his heart in the way that I love my children. They bring me great joy and as I write this, I want you to know that you bring God great joy as His child, so much so that He gave up his life for you!

7KHVHODVW IRXUPRQWKVKDYHEHHQ WKHPRVWGLɝFXOWEXW the most rewarding months I’ve experienced yet. Most RIWKHWLPHP\KRXVHLVDPHVVWKHȵRRUVDUHGLUW\ΖDP consistently tripping over toys, food is squashed onto the couch, there is a massive pile of dirty dishes and the laundry is staring at me. I am tired due to lack of sleep DQG LURQLFDOO\ Ζ ȴQG P\VHOI SHUPDQHQWO\ KXQJU\ \HW constantly trying to feed two little mouths... and the list 13

goes on. If you’re a mother of little children, or have been, I am sure you can relate. I have been on maternity leave and have been looking after my two sons who are now 2.5 \HDUVDQGPRQWKVROG7KHVH IRXUPRQWKVKDYHȵRZQE\ Yet, simultaneously, the days seemed like they would never end... You know what I mean? In the hard moments of tears, tantrums and sleeplessness, it feels never ending. But I know that these are the days that I will miss... chaotic but I’ll miss them. These are the days that my heart will ache for because when my children are grown up, I will miss them being around all the time. The hugs and kisses and sweetness that oozes out of them makes me certain that it’s all worth it. What’s even more rewarding is knowing that God has given me this opportunity to disciple them. $VPRWKHUVZHPDNHYLVLEOH DQGLQYLVLEOHVDFULȴFHV IRURXU FKLOGUHQ*RGSODFHGZLWKLQXVDȴHUFHGHHSXQFRQGLWLRQDO love for our children. But oh what JOY we get out of the relationship. It makes me think about how much Christ loves PHDQGWKHPDJQLWXGHRIKLVORYHIRUDOOSHRSOHWKRVHWKDW have lived, are living and those still to be born... It’s incredible to think of love at that magnitude. God doesn’t feel like running away when he sees the chaos of my life. Instead +H SXUVXHVPH DQG GLHG IRUPH Ȃ WKH JUHDWHVW VDFULȴFH RI DOO WLPH +H VHWPH IUHH IURP WKH ȊFKDRVȋ $QG +H GLG WKDW for everyone. Wow! Again, going back to the magnitude of -HVXVȇORYHWKHVDFULȴFHWKDW-HVXVPDGHIRU\RXDQGPHIDU H[FHHGVWKDWRIDPRWKHUȇVEXWLWȇVFHUWDLQO\DUHȵHFWLRQRILW in a big way. I thank God for showing me his heart in the way WKDWΖORYHP\FKLOGUHQ7KH\EULQJPHJUHDWMR\DQGDVΖZULWH WKLVΖZDQW\RXWRNQRZWKDW\RXEULQJ*RGJUHDWMR\DV+LV FKLOGVRPXFKVRWKDW+HJDYHXSKLVOLIHIRU\RX3DUWQHUVRI CBN, as a mother I would like to say thank you for supporting WKHPDQ\ZRPHQWKDWEHQHȴWIURPWKHYDULRXV&%1SURMHFWV Women like Lesedi’s mother (page 9); are receiving physical, emotional and spiritual support to raise their children. Please keep on supporting CBN so that we can continue to change the lives of women, mothers and children in our communities. 14