Dear Youth Group Students, other Youth around us, and our "not yet a parent" friends,
Though I am so happy to have been able to share the process of Jeremy and I becoming parents with all of you, and feel that it has been a good experience for you to watch us go from pregnancy, to having a newborn, to now having an infant son, I feel I may also have done you a disservice by only letting you see one side of parenthood.
For those of you who only get to see the cute, cuddly, fun Lucas who is always smiling, and cooing, let me enlighten you on what the other side of having a baby looks like...don't get me wrong, he is absolutely adorable BUT he also been up for the last two nights, crying for food and then halfway through eating decides he is good and falls back asleep only to do it again in a few hours because he wont stay awake long enough to eat a full bottle. Yesterday, he had a huge, smelly, gross, poopy diaper that not only leaked through his diaper, but also through his onsie, pants, and onto a pillow. He required a bath after that and though we are happy he loves his baths so much, the temper tantrum he throws when we take him out, is not pleasant. Monday, he had to go to the doctor for vaccines and I held him down as he screamed and they inserted three needles in him that he still has bruises from. This morning he has been literally screaming non stop since 8am (thats 4 1/2 hours btw), and I have done absolutely everything I can think of to help him. I have finally resorted to laying him next to me in the bed and just letting him scream it out...
So you see, parenting is more than the cuddles, the laughs, the smiles, and playtime; it is about going through everything I mentioned above and still loving your child more than you can express. Its about watching them cry and hurt and having your heart just break in half because you would do anything to take their place.
So for our youth group students, when your parents are driving you crazy (and all parents do), just remember that at some point in your life, they cried because you had been crying for hours non stop and there was nothing they could do to make it better, and though they probably had a headache from sleepless nights, and were completely frustrated listening to you scream... yet they still looked down at you in their arms and thought "this is the best part of my life, this baby is a miracle from God."
And for my friends who are not yet parents, people will tell you to make sure you are "ready financially, ready to be tied down, set in your career, ready physically, etc..." for a baby before you decide to have one, but honestly all of those things will come on their own...what you really need to be ready for is the ache you will endure in your heart when your child is growing up right in front of your eyes and you know that one day you wont be their whole world anymore and you wont be able to protect them from their pains, fears, and the predators of this world. That heart ache is more than any I have ever endured and yet the miracle that is my son is worth every single second of it.
=)
Though I am so happy to have been able to share the process of Jeremy and I becoming parents with all of you, and feel that it has been a good experience for you to watch us go from pregnancy, to having a newborn, to now having an infant son, I feel I may also have done you a disservice by only letting you see one side of parenthood.
For those of you who only get to see the cute, cuddly, fun Lucas who is always smiling, and cooing, let me enlighten you on what the other side of having a baby looks like...don't get me wrong, he is absolutely adorable BUT he also been up for the last two nights, crying for food and then halfway through eating decides he is good and falls back asleep only to do it again in a few hours because he wont stay awake long enough to eat a full bottle. Yesterday, he had a huge, smelly, gross, poopy diaper that not only leaked through his diaper, but also through his onsie, pants, and onto a pillow. He required a bath after that and though we are happy he loves his baths so much, the temper tantrum he throws when we take him out, is not pleasant. Monday, he had to go to the doctor for vaccines and I held him down as he screamed and they inserted three needles in him that he still has bruises from. This morning he has been literally screaming non stop since 8am (thats 4 1/2 hours btw), and I have done absolutely everything I can think of to help him. I have finally resorted to laying him next to me in the bed and just letting him scream it out...
So you see, parenting is more than the cuddles, the laughs, the smiles, and playtime; it is about going through everything I mentioned above and still loving your child more than you can express. Its about watching them cry and hurt and having your heart just break in half because you would do anything to take their place.
So for our youth group students, when your parents are driving you crazy (and all parents do), just remember that at some point in your life, they cried because you had been crying for hours non stop and there was nothing they could do to make it better, and though they probably had a headache from sleepless nights, and were completely frustrated listening to you scream... yet they still looked down at you in their arms and thought "this is the best part of my life, this baby is a miracle from God."
And for my friends who are not yet parents, people will tell you to make sure you are "ready financially, ready to be tied down, set in your career, ready physically, etc..." for a baby before you decide to have one, but honestly all of those things will come on their own...what you really need to be ready for is the ache you will endure in your heart when your child is growing up right in front of your eyes and you know that one day you wont be their whole world anymore and you wont be able to protect them from their pains, fears, and the predators of this world. That heart ache is more than any I have ever endured and yet the miracle that is my son is worth every single second of it.
=)