First, I want to say thank you to those of you who responded to last week’s post, in which I asked for help for the BRM benevolence fund. There has already been over $22,000 donated. That is amazing! I thank you on behalf of the needy individuals who will benefit from your generosity.
Second, as we celebrate Mother’s Day today, this week’s blog post is an excerpt from the sermon I preached online today at Hikes Point Christian Church titled, “The Mixed Emotions of Motherhood” and can be watched in its entirety here.
Imagine, Men, What It’s Like to Be a Mother
Imagine, men, what it’s like to discover you are pregnant. Imagine you learn a tiny, new life is developing in your womb. What’s it like to be co-creators with God of a baby? To know God is knitting together a human being in your womb? I’ve asked several women, “What was your reaction when you first learned you were expecting a child,” and received a variety of comments:
“Usually, there’s excitement when the test is positive, and you can’t wait to tell your husband and family and share the joy, but to be honest, sometimes there’s disappointment. ‘Oh, no! Not now! Not again! I’m not ready!’”
“There are questions and doubts. Will I be a good mother? Will my husband be a good father?” Or, “Will I love the second child as much as the first?”
“Then you get morning sickness and become antisocial. Your emotions are on edge, and there’s a loss of energy.”
Imagine, men, what it’s like to carry a developing human being inside your body for nine months. I was told, “Initially pregnancy is such a joyful time until your body bulges and stretch marks appear. You can’t roll over easily in bed or even bend over anymore. You feel overweight and unattractive.”
“Then one day, you feel the baby kick, the most awesome of pregnancy experiences. Then the false labor pains begin, and you can’t tell what’s what. You become apprehensive and impatient.”
What’s it like to be so anxious that you pray every day for a healthy child and wonder if God is going to answer your prayer affirmatively?
Imagine, men, what it’s like to give birth. What’s it like to go through fierce, intensifying labor pains and wonder if you’re going to live? God promised Eve that because of her sin, women would have pain in childbirth. A number of women testified convincingly that’s a promise fulfilled. Thankfully, men, we’ve never experienced that exact “acute,” “fierce,” “stabbing” pain.
Minutes after giving birth to our first child, my wife, who had been in and out of labor for over 24 hours because our son was a breech birth, snarled, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to give Eve a piece of my mind!”
One mother said, “Your husband is in the delivery room and tries to encourage you, and then you remember that he got you into this mess. He’s still smiling and chattering words of encouragement that sound so flippant at that moment. Now you are seething, not just in pain, but in anger as well!”
“You work and strain, and then suddenly it’s over, and you experience the unparalleled thrill of holding your baby. There’s a moment of ecstasy when the precious, living infant is placed in your arms, and somehow it’s all worth it now.”
My wife captured pictures of our two daughters-in-law at that wonderful moment, and their expression in these photographs speaks volumes.
There is complete exhaustion and tears of joy and relief. Oh, the wonder of it all! The baby is instantly, instinctively loved.
There’s the inner joy of seeing and embracing this mysterious new life that God has entrusted to you…and to your family as well. 
There is an inner glow of energy and a sense of satisfaction as mother and child are bonded together in love, as evidenced in the picture at the bottom of Krista Newhall, a family friend, and her new baby Jocelyn.
The new mother basks in the realization of her amazing accomplishment and the privilege of partnering with God in creating life. There’s liberation from anxiety and pain. There is incredible joy and thankfulness.
But that’s just the beginning. Minutes later, there may be a post-partum letdown that can’t fully be explained. It may be because she realizes her labor has really just begun. No newborn demands more attention, protection, and oversight for such a long period of time, as do human beings.
A Godly, caring mother is a mother 24 hours a day, and in a sense, for a lifetime. There is just a mixture of emotions that only a mother fully understands. No wonder the Bible instructs us to give her honor and praise. She really deserves it.
“Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”
– (Proverbs 31:28-31)
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