New Mommies - Dinner #22

     I keep looking at my calendar to count down the days and the weeks until that time when our little girl is expected to arrive. SMILE!  Sometimes it seems a long way off, and other days it feels like it’s all coming far too quickly, as I wonder whether or not I’m really ready for so many new responsibilities.  To encourage myself, I recently decided to look up some of the “mother” verses in the Bible, and began thinking about Proverbs 31 as it would apply to a new mommy.  My hope is that, in writing some of these thoughts down, I will not only solidify them in my own heart, but might also help some of the other “mommies-to-be” that I know. 

     Proverbs 31:13 tells us that the virtuous woman , “. . . worketh willingly with her hands.”  As a new mommy, she’s holding, caressing, rocking, feeding, bathing . . . and she’s doing it all WILLINGLY!  Verses 15-17 describe a strong, hardworking lady.  Even if she gets to be a stay-at-home-mom, she’s not sitting around doing nothing all day and just turning into a blob. SMILE!  She’s a “busy bee”, always seeking to help her family. 

     Proverbs 31:20 declares, “ . . . she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.”  Though perhaps not needy in a monetary sense, a newborn is certainly a needy little person! SMILE!  It needs a lot of unselfish time, and love, and energy!  Mommy-To-Be, are you ready to “reach forth your hands” to that tiny little bundle? 

     In verse 21, we see that this godly lady is “. . . not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.”   She is PREPARED.  As an expectant mommy, she has diapers, and baby oil, and blankets, on hand and ready to go!  She is also prepared in knowledge, having researched things to help her along the way. 

     Proverbs 31:23 speaks of a woman whose husband is known among the leaders of the land.  As the saying goes, “Behind every great man there stands a great woman.”  She is a wife who is there for her man, encouraging him in his pursuits.  She may have a baby at home, but she doesn’t fail to remember the husband who needs her. 

     Verse 28 tells us that the children of the virtuous woman, “ . . . arise up, and call her blessed: her husband also, and he praiseth her.”  Little newborns may not be able to SAY that you are “blessed”, but they can show that they are LOVED!  Those happy smiles and sweet baby coos will be evidence enough of a PRAISEWORTHY mother. 

     As a final thought, Proverbs 31:30 reminds us that “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”  This new mom is clearly a God-fearing lady.  Having a new baby to care for may mean that she is no longer able to attend every church service as faithfully as she used to, but she does her best, and she does not forget or neglect her Lord.  She reads her Bible and godly literature, in order to encourage her spirit. She may listen to sermons on tape or over the internet.  She is not as concerned with her outward appearance as she is the appearance of her HEART. 

     Time goes by so quickly. . . Will many changes soon take place for us expectant mommies??  Yes, indeed!  But when the task seems enormous and daunting before us, Philippians 4:13 still holds true:  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  May the Lord help us every day, as we prepare to step into a new and wonderful stage of our lives!