Guest Writer Monday! Introducing Savannah!

Let me introduce you to Savannah! We met in a parenting class and I instantly fell in love with her spunk, no-nonsense-tell-you-like-it-is-with-grace-style, and her creative mind. We both love photography and I remember being with her at a table full of others where they were encouraging me to go ahead and dive into that big unknown world of photography. Savannah is a great Mommy to three and is amazing at teaching her kids how to play very creatively. I hope you enjoy what she has to share with us today...leave her some comment love!

Glorious

Wow! Look at me, guest blogging! Which, is apparently the only way I blog anymore, since I’m terrible at keeping my own page up. I was so thrilled when Becke’ asked to write a post for her blog. Her only request was that I write “anything that points to the glory of God.” I figured I could do that, only if I surrendered my fingers to deliver words that He has written on my heart.
There is an old cliché that says, “Write what you know.” If there is one thing in this life I know, it’s babies. I’ve been a parent now for 68 months. I stared my journey to parenthood early and haven’t slowed down yet. I had my first child at age 20, my second at 22, and my third at 25. Cumulatively, I’ve been a parent for 122 months!

When I was pregnant with my first, my son, I devoured every bit of information I could on pregnancy, infancy, motherhood, and toddlerhood. I was not scared (though looking back now, I should have been. I can only assume God had laid some grace-laced blindfold over my eyes, or I would have been doubled over in panic the entire time), but I wanted knowledge. I wanted to know exactly how my favorite little fetus was developing each week. (It’s the size of a pea! A grape! An orange! A WATERMELON!) I wanted to know what to expect during labor and delivery. I wanted to know how much a newborn sleeps, how often it would eat, and what to do with it in the meantime. I wanted to know when to expect the first tooth, when he would learn to walk, and when he would express to me how grateful he was for the endless hours I put in wiping poop, snot, and tears from his body, and for continuously providing him with love, hugs, and decent food. So far, we’re two-for-three.

I wanted to learn. I spent hours on those internets, I bought at least 16 books about pregnancy and the aforementioned –hoods. I questioned every woman who’d ever mothered me. I eyed pregnant ladies in Wal-Mart to see if their ankles were smaller than mine (“They better not be!”). I voluntarily watched –oh the horror!– birth videos.

And then my son arrived. And then I learned to sleep in two-minute increments. And then I knew the heart-crushing agony of slicing off a little bit of his skin when trying to cut his fingernails. And then I knew I’d never love any living thing nearly as much as I loved him. There was just no way. My heart was filled to the brim with adoration of this tiny little sweet-smelling creature. How could I even consider sharing my time/energy/attention/kisses with anyone else? But then we got pregnant again. When my son was 27 months old, we had a daughter. Our family was complete. My heart grew exponentially. The places I thought my husband and son occupied had suddenly expanded to include this small, angry, perfect little girl. We thought we were through, but when our chubby princess was 28 months old, I gave birth to Daughter #2. I was certain my heart would rip in half. But it didn’t. I had room enough for one grown man and three small children. I was stunned!

When my husband and I got married, we searched for two years for a church home. We came from different theological and doctrinal backgrounds; it was hard for us to find a place to belong. Eventually we did find a place. We got “plugged in.” Again, I did some diving in. My husband and I found a small group. I participated in the Women’s Ministry. I took Bible studies. I was hungry for knowledge of the Lord.

And now, to this very hour, I am learning. I am amazed at the similarities of my role as mother, and His role as heavenly Father. I hurt when my kids hurt. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.” When I chastise my children for their disobedience and encourage them to do right, I am reminded what the Lord said to Cain in Genesis 4:6; "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?"

But also, I am learning how very childlike I am in the Lord’s eyes. I am weak, I am helpless, I am confused, and I get lonely. (One glimpse would display a newborn.) I am hardheaded, I am stubborn, and I want my way to be the right way. (Doesn’t that sound like every three year old on the planet?) I am shameful, I try to hide my sins, and I am easily irritated. (Hello, school-age kids!)

Each time I discipline my kids, they are repentant. Each time I come to my Father in prayer, I ask His forgiveness. At the end of every punishment, I remind my children how much I love them, and that nothing they do can change that. I am, in turn, told that, “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39)

There is room in the Father’s heart for all of His children! He has infinite patience with us! He promises forgiveness, if we’ll only ask! He is a “compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15) It is impossible for me to quantify the enormity of my love for my babies. How much more then, does my Creator love me? What would I not do to save my children from harm? What did Christ do to save me?

Each week, my kids learn a new verse from Scripture. One of the first verses they learned is one of the most commonly quoted, and best known passages in the bible. It embodies the Truth perfectly, and bears repeating here: John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

I make precious few promises to make to my children, because I know how fragile life is, and how easily unexpected circumstances arise. But in the Lord, through Christ, we are given a promise, one that can never be reneged, and one that is not dependent on any circumstance. We are given an eternal promise of salvation. That, my friends, is glorious.