Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom

I gave my Mother's Day Talk at CBC (Calvary Baptist Church) in Matawan, NJ, on Saturday May 8th. Suzette, recently informed me, that God has been expanding my borders, and I believe she is right! God has been giving me some AMAZING opportunities to reach out to others and share a little bit of my heart. Speaking in front of people has always been something I enjoy. I know that sounds really weird, because one of the greatest fears of people is public speaking, well, that and spiders, but I've always enjoyed it. Now, don't get me wrong, I get very nervous before I am about to speak, but once I begin, something just relaxes inside of me and it's like a switch goes on and I'm ready!

Speaking in chapels at TCS, and this Mother's Day brunch has been such a blessing this year. It's allowed me the chance to grow as a woman. It keeps me reading and researching and studying God's Word. It helps me to express myself in creative ways. And it keeps me on my toes!

At CBC there were about 80 women signed up for the brunch and my talk. We all met in the sanctuary at 10 am that morning. Then we were ushered into the fellowship hall where the men all served us brunch. There was fruit, coffee, tea, quiche, bagels and pastries. I thought I'd be too nervous to eat, but since I eat at 6:30 am by the time 10:00 rolls around I can eat, and I did. My friend Meg, the Pastor's wife, saved me a seat and we chatted about school and the kids.

Then after brunch it was time to go back into the sanctuary. I gave Pastor Ken a slide show of my family and some pictures I wanted to share with the women, and as I shared my (9 page) talk I showed slides of me as a teacher, John and I on vacation, our puppy Paris, and our beloved babies: Julia Star and Mark Ciro...oh, man, was I blessed.

We shared a lot of laughter together and some tears that day, during my talk. It was as if I was in the center of a great big group hug and we were all just moms and loving every minute of it. I'm so thankful I got to share how God has blessed me as a mom and all the neat things He is still teaching me about myself and about motherhood.

Many women came up to me afterward and said thank you. This is something that you never can expect, but so greatly appreciate. Some said, Thank you for sharing your story it made me laugh, it made me cry, or I am a homeschool mom, you can do it! Whatever their words of encouragement were, it just fed my soul, and I was thankful.

Here is a poem that I started my talk with:

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby, I didn’t worry whether or not my plant were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on, pooped on, chewed on, peed on, I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept ALL night.

Before I was a Mom, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom, I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body…I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn’t know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or satisfaction of being a Mom…I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.