It's official: we no longer have a rolling Stone. We now have a full-fledged crawler, albeit army crawling--the kid gets everywhere he wants to go. E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. We took Number 4 in for a 6 month well-check yesterday, and the doc confirmed the 20 lb. little munchkin was 3-4 months ahead of schedule in motor skills and general readiness in all things boy. Relief: We thought we were losing our minds, feeling like we skipped an entire stage of babyhood! Panic: Baby-proof the house! Put up the gate! Clean up the Legos! Get the dog hair out of his mouth!
In spite of the current chaos of loud (yes, he also screeches Teradacktal style) and mobility, I've been feeling super sentimental about the toddler stage replacing the baby. Who knows if he's our last, but I still find myself clinging to every moment of every day with this little one. I share all this because it's taken me a few rounds of babies, to get to this point: treasuring, cherishing, and being thankful for the chaos, the spit-up, the clean-up, the diapers, the schedules, the early mornings...and really being here, not just in body, but in mind and spirit, for the smiles, the giggles, the discoveries, the house full of noises, and the constant demands of motherhood.
If you are a new mom, or if you've ever felt disconnected from the daily grind of this incredible job of mother and wife--take heart! Though you'll never see a quick turnaround in paycheck, nor a box in which you can check for a task completed, the rewards are manifold and the joys abundant. Ask our gracious Redeemer for perspective, and embrace the ministry of chasing, cleaning, correcting, comforting, cooking, and sacrificing, as an offering unto Him. To your surprise, He may just thrill you to no end in this great task, and you, too, will find your days fleeting, and your heart beating for more.
