This past Sunday I had something hit me through the Spirit. I can't remember what it was exactly, whether it was during Sacrament or during the bearing of testimonies but I feel that it's an important insight for me (and that a lot of parents have probably come this insight at some point in their lives). The scripture Moses 1:39 says "For behold, this is my awork and my bglory—to bring to pass the cimmortality and deternal elife of man. " Ok, so my thoughts might ramble a bit. I'm not sure how to share this insight but I hope that it will make sense.
Before I became a mother I always thought that having a baby would be kind of boring. Not that wouldn't be hard but just having a human being that can do nothing for itself seemed a little boring. Luckily I have been very wrong. Having Little Girl has been an amazing experience. Not only because she's such a happy girl and is so fun to be with, but because every single accomplishment she has had has NOT been boring or small. I have watched her from being a newborn to lifting her head up, to being able to sit up with a pillow, to sitting up on her own, to standing while holding onto something, to pulling herself up to a standing position, to crawling, etc. Each of these milestones has been such an accomplishment not only for her but for me.
I recently read a blog about what do stay at home mothers do all and also a book called "From Pampered to Productive" where both of them talk about the endless work a mother has. And where most of it goes by unnoticed. No pat on the back, no recognition, nothing. Which is what most mothers know will happen before becoming a mother. For the most part it's not that big of a deal, but there are days where you have tried your best and you want someone to say "Hey! Look at what you did!" Mothers work tirelessly to help their children to learn and grow. To help them sit, crawl, stand. How to eat solid foods, how to read, how to tie their shoe. How to treat others, how to love, how to say I'm sorry. How to play an instrument, how to make dinner, how to make a budget. How to learn from their actions by putting them in time out even when it hurts mothers probably more than their screaming kid at the time. Why? Why on earth do they do this for someone else? For many someone elses? Because they love them and they want the best for them. And I have realized my true payment for being a mother and my true glory for being a mom is to see how far they come from where they begin. To watch a newborn go from being pretty much stranded in her little body to being able to crawl and stand in 8 short months. To see her success (and sheer happiness) at being able to do something she hasn't done before. It's an amazing feeling to see this progress in someone you love so much.
This is what I believe the scripture above means. God loves us so much. And he wants us to be everything we can be. He knows our true potential. Just as a mother knows her child will be able to walk and talk and learn, he knows we can grow and overcome. And his glory is that we, through his guidance, will grow to our true potential. A mother's greatest glory is seeing her child become a good and intelligent adult who makes good choices and is able to love and serve. To see that her mistakes in parenting didn't harm them, but hopefully helped them. For God his glory is for man to come unto him and to become perfected through him.
I'm not sure if this ramble of thoughts made sense to you, but as I have been a mother I have felt like I understand more what it's like for God. He sees us grow, fall, learn, and go through tests. Sometimes we reach for him as a little child reaches for their mom as they're learning to stand, other times we allow ourselves to fall before reaching out. I understand now why he allows bad things to happen to us. How else would we learn? How else would my little girl learn to walk if I carried her all the time? Just like she needs to test out her legs and balance, we need to be tested and tried. Because it is then that we truly progress and become closer to God, and eventually bring about his work and glory.
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