My Arrow Ethan

Six years ago today God blessed us with our first child. At 11:46 pm Ethan arrived! All 7 pounds and 13.5 ounces of him. It was a surreal moment when they laid him on my chest and I tried to focus to count all his tiny fingers and toes. Sam and my sister cried. I didn’t cry . . . . I was just so happy to FINALLY see him. . . and I was exhausted and hungry! LOL

Ethan is a gift! God intricately designed him with his strong-will, mechanical math mind (gets that from Sam) rambunctiousness, love for reading, tender heart, outgoing personality, humor and sweet spirit just for ME! JUST FOR ME! He isn’t exactly like any other child on this entire planet. He was made precisely the way God wanted him to be . . . just for me. Isn’t that AMAZING!?!?! Motherhood is hard. Yet on those hardest of hard days I remember what a blessing my children are. They are truly gifts from God wrapped in the best paper and ribbons and entrusted to us.

Do you ever wonder if you are worthy of such a gift?  Am I worthy of the calling of Motherhood?  Some days I feel I fall very short! On Mother’s day Ethan gave me a gift he made at school. I still almost cry every time I look at it. A picture of it is below. His kindergarten teacher asked them to go through magazines to pick out things about your mom. It was a "Mom's Magazine Scavenger Hunt" where he had to find pictures of Something Mom likes to eat, Shoes for Mom, A present for Mom, A purse for Mom, etc.

In the block that said "Something Mom Likes" was a picture of Jesus! I asked Ethan, "Who is this a picture of?" (Just to make sure he wasn’t saying I like long hair men with a beard because Sam used to have both.) He smiled and said, “JESUS!” My eyes welled up with tears. At some point on some day I must have gotten something right!

Your family is your first ministry. My calling as a mother is to do everything I can to point my children to JESUS! I pray both my children know and share the love I have for my Savior. That they know the grace he so freely gives us all the time. Especially on those days when I totally blow it! Ethan loves to read the Bible and I pray he always LONGS to be in the word.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NASB) 6  These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as [a]frontals [b]on your forehead. 9  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

I pray God continues to guide me on how to answer all Ethan’s “theological” questions. He is fascinated with the trinity and keeps me on my toes when questions arise. I pray he comes to know the Lord at an early age.

People may look at me with my kids and say “wow you have your hands full.” YES I DO! Full of BLESSINGS from the gifts that have been placed in my care.

Psalm 127:3-5 (NASB)

³ Behold, children are a ^[a]gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate

Is motherhood a calling? Yes! Read the blog below by Rachel Jankovic

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank