When I was a new, young mom I was clueless about half the time as to what I was even doing. I wasn’t a fan of babysitting when I was a teenager and therefore really had no experience with babies at all. So when we started our family, like so many other new and unsuspecting mommy’s out there, my world spun upside down. I think I was in a fog the first six months of my oldest son’s life, a colicky baby who had ear infections and cried almost constantly. Eventually I began to get the jist of it, of course, like all mothers do, but I can honestly say it was whirlwind of learning and coping with the challenges of no sleep and motherhood Every. Single. Day.
The one thing I can say that came completely natural to me was praying over each of my babies constantly. As I would rock them to sleep or just sit holding them I would pour out to the Lord for Him to watch over them, protect them, raise them up to love Him. I did this with all three of my children.
As a mom of two boys I had two fears that haunted me. 1) That they might get drafted into a war someday and 2) That I would lose them someday to their future wive’s families. These were prayers I prayed against their whole lives. Having grown up in the Vietnam era it was especially frightening to me to think about them being drafted. And, it truly used to haunt me. So pray I did…..constantly. And, I prayed for their future wives from the time they were infants. I knew God knew exactly who they would be and I prayed over them…..that God would raise them up well to be my son’s wives. I literally prayed this over my boys their entire lives. And, I prayed that they would remain close to me and their dad and that our family would be just as important to them as their wive’s families. This is common concern for most moms of boys….losing their boys to their wive’s families. If you’re a mom of only girls that might not be something you’ve ever even thought about. But, I can assure you most moms of boys do have these thoughts now and again. So many times the husband just sort of drifts into a pattern of following the wife and her own family events and his family’s just becomes second fiddle. I never let that happen with my husband’s family and I never wanted that for my boys. So I constantly prayed that we would remain close and that our family would be just as important to them as their wive’s families.
And, God heard my prayers. First of all…..they never got drafted….praise the Lord! To a lot of you younger moms I know that may sound like a strange prayer, but trust me if you’d grown up in an era where friends and relatives were being drafted to serve in a war like Vietnam you’d understand. And, second of all I could not possibly be more blessed than I am with the daughter-in-law’s I have. They are everything I could have ever hoped for to love my boys and raise my grandchildren. I can think of nothing worse than having daughter-in-laws that were hateful and argumentative with my boys or horrible mothers to my grandchildren. Nothing!! God answers prayers. Not only are they wonderful Christians, they are loving wives to my boys, amazing momma’s to their children and they are good friends with each other. They love each other and they love my daughter. All of them, very close, very good friends. THAT my friends is a blessing. And that is what you want. So start praying now!
I’m already praying for God’s provision over my grandchildren and for the little people (soon to be big people) He’s raising up right now to be their spouses one day. Odd’s are they are here on this earth already and walking through this life. My prayer is the God is watching over them, training them and grooming them to love Him and be the best they can be for my grandchildren. And when God brings them together one day I pray His blessings on their lives together and their children as well. It’s never too early to pray and you can’t “over-pray”……life up your requests to the Lord!
I feel like with my personality type – had I been the age of my daughter-in-law’s in another life – we’d have all been good friends. We have so many similar characteristics and similar views on life. And, that makes for a good fit as a family I think. Answered prayers, my friends! Start praying now! I was especially touched when my youngers son’s wife said to me in tears a couple of weeks ago how much she loves and value’s me as a -mother-in-law and how thankful she is for me. Which is exactly how I feel about her of course. A blessing beyond words. Aside from a relationship with the Lord, nothing is more precious than our relationship with family. I can’t express in words how grateful I am for both of my daughter-in-law’s. And, I know that’s truly a gift.
Of course the prayers continued with my daughter. How cute is this little face? Literally from the time she was a wee little one I prayed over her….for the Lord’s guidance and protection and direction. And, of course, for the one she would marry someday. Again, I assumed the one the Lord had chosen for her was walking this earth parallel to her and I prayed for him just like I prayed for my daughter-in-law’s. For the Lord to bring the right man into her life. And, once again the Lord answered my prayers. We couldn’t be happier with the husband our son-in-law is to our daughter. He had big shoes to fill with her father as the prime example (as well as her brothers) and he fits the bill perfectly. He makes my daughter so incredibly happy and that makes this mama’s heart so happy. His personality is a mix between my two son’s and my husband’s. Great sense of humor, always willing to offer a helping hand and truly enjoys his sibling-in-law’s. My younger son looks at him as the younger brother he never had. Again……answered prayer. Have I mentioned that before? Your kids are never too young to start praying over with regard to their future adult lives.
Any parent, especially older parents, will vouch for the fact that life whirls by at a pace so rapid it’ll make your head spin. But, you don’t have the wisdom or even the time to truly see it until so much of it has passed by. So much of life is spent just living…..trying to make a buck, trying see to it your kids are taken care of and out of trouble. Trying to pay the bills, buy the cars, take a vacation once in awhile. But, it does whirl by quickly and I implore you to start praying over your children now…..for God to bring the right person into their lives as a husband or wife someday. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having someone you love and respect and trust marry your children and treat them with the love and respect you think they deserve.
The wrong fit can literally change the balance of your entire family.
The kids call my husband Doogie (his name is Doug) and they call me Mimi. Or “Doogimi” as they refer to us as a couple. And our clan is known as Doogimiville.
I’m grateful to be able to walk through life with these amazing peeps as my family. And, I look forward to more grandbabies to come.
And, yes, they’re already in my prayers.
Happy Life By Design!