"“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” " — Denis Waitley
As I was thinking about my next gratitude post - I was thinking about how differently love comes. When it came to my husband.... my love was a choice. It came slowly and grew over time. I loved him because of his qualities that I admired. I decided that he was worthy of my love and I hoped to be worthy of his. With my children, however, it came differently. When I was pregnant with Lizzy I remember wondering if I would love my baby. I wondered if my heart was big enough to love this little child in addition to everything else I loved. And then she was born.... and I found that my heart didn't have to push something out to make room, it just grew larger. I had a greater capacity to love. My love for her was sudden and powerful from the moment I saw her. Perhaps it was the result of having her as a part of my own body for 9 months, but it seems that she is an extension of me. I know that is not completely accurate but sometimes it feels like it. Her joy is my joy and her pain is my pain. I love her simply because she is mine.
As she continues to grow, I've learned to love her for different reasons as well. I'm grateful for her compassion. I'm grateful for her imagination that entertains me everyday. I'm grateful for the way that she enjoys life and helps me to enjoy it as well. I'm grateful for the joy that she brings to mine and Aaron's families. I'm grateful for the way she absorbs knowledge and wants to know everything about everything. Today is my day to remember how grateful I am for Lizzy Joy.
3 comments:
gosh! are you trying to make me cry? one more of these grateful posts and I might lose it! love you!
That was sweet! It is amazing how as mothers we can feel so attached from the very second we lay eyes on them for the first time. They are worth more than anything.
Your gratitude posts are so beautiful and inspiring. Having a child is so, so amazing and I completely understand the feeling that your child is an extension of yourself. I also understand how God's glory can be in His children, as they are extensions of Himself.
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