The Best Blessing

There's something about a hot shower that just starts my day off right; the hot water works the kinks out of both my muscles and my thoughts. Today while I was in the shower, I had an epiphany. It occurred to me that my purpose in this life truly is to be a mother. I've always believed that families are central to God's plan for us on this earth, but it suddenly became real to me this morning. Really, my epiphany was that our lives revolve around our children; they are some of our biggest trials sometimes, but they are also our greatest blessings.

Most of the worst things that can happen in this life happen to, or because of, our children. Some mothers get horribly sick while they're pregnant or have difficult labors. Many of those mothers have to do that all alone because the fathers flaked out on them. Some children are placed for adoption because their parents, despite wanting and loving those children desperately, simply cannot provide for them. Others are just neglected. Sometimes, children turn their backs on the way they were raised and lose touch with their families. Some children are born with a devastating illness, and others develop illnesses later on in life. Some children are horrifically abused, and others die tragically young. Some parents struggle endlessly to provide their children with the basic necessities of life. Regardless of individual circumstances, it is safe to say that being a parent is not always easy, and no child has a perfect life. Every single family has their own personal struggles in life and has to learn to overcome them together. Every parent is haunted by stress, by trials, and especially by worry.

But in the end, it's all worth it. One single smile on the face of a child wipes away an entire night of crying, throwing up, and cleaning. One look into the pure innocence in a child's eyes makes a mother forget all the pain and exhaustion she feels after labor. One sweet giggle from your little one blots out the swathe of destruction that follows that little one around the house. And all true parents would do it all again. Even the "mistakes." A close family relation had her son when she was seventeen years old, and when he was eighteen years old, he died from an allergic reaction to drugs. She has told me that she would do it all again; even knowing that she would only have those eighteen years with him, she would choose to get pregnant at sixteen and have him at seventeen, just for the pleasure of knowing him and being his mother. Todd and I would do it again, too. Even though we can't really afford to give Evie the life we want her to have, we would choose to have her again because she is our precious little girl and we love her.

That was really my epiphany this morning: children are a privilege that eclipses any trials that they may bring. The love of parents for their children makes every sacrifice and every challenge worth it, just to have the blessing of a child in our lives: the best blessing of all.