First Steps

No, Bree is not already taking her first steps. She doesn't even know she has feet yet. But my first steps as her mom are to release her daily into God's watchful protection. Many new moms fear constantly about their new baby. Some things are realistic, some are completely crazy (but it makes sense to them at the time).

I have not struggled with this too severely, but I think it is because I had to give Bree to the Lord a long time ago, before I even knew her. After I got home from Africa, we found out I was pregnant. I was nervous everyday. I prayed that she wouldn't be affected by the drugs and vaccines I had received. With each passing month I had to continue to give her to the Lord. She was in His hands.

Now that she is here, I have to continue to do that.

My first devotion on praying for your child was exactly that: releasing my child into God's hands.

"We cannot be everywhere. But God can. We cannot see everything. But God can. We cannot know everything. But God can. Releasing them into God's hands is a sign of faith and trust in Him."

How foolish of us to think we love our child the most. God surely cares for them as much - or more - than we do. Whenever fear strikes my heart about Bree, I will take it as a cue to pray until I feel peace. If I do not feel peace, I will enlist the help of others to pray, as well. Giving her to God must be a daily choice, and by putting God in charge ... That takes a lot of pressure off me. And parenting becomes much more enjoyable.