"A Mother's Heart"
Written by: Mary-Lyn Vandolder
Where do I begin?
When Kerrington asked if I'd be open to guest-posting on her blog
I was flattered and a little excited :) Write about being a Mom? Sure! Super easy with 22 years of experience under my belt! Hmmm...
Maybe not as easy as I'd thought...
One beautiful fall day in 1991,
my new husband and I discovered that our carefully laid plans were being changed in a dramatic fashion. We were going to have our first child, 2 years ahead of schedule.
I didn't care, schedules were made to be changed. I was going to have a baby! The friend who was with me when the doctor's office called jumped up & down and shouted with me. I stopped, turned to her and said, "it's going to be a girl and her name will be Jenna."
Her due date was Good Friday, mid-April. I was right about her name but everyone was way off with her due-date; Jenna finally made her appearance on Friday, May 8th,
21 days after her expected due date. When I held her and looked into her big blue eyes, I knew that my life had been changed irrevocably, forever.
On that Mother's Day weekend of 1992, I joined the ranks of women worldwide who've experienced the same incredible joy and heartbreak that we as mother's have known since Eve.
I was warned after her birth that I may be unable to conceive or carry a baby to term again, but prayer and God's faithfulness prevailed and our beautiful, prophetic princess's words came true when, just months after she began telling everyone that she was going to have a baby sister, we discovered we were indeed expecting her sister, Faith.
It was a difficult pregnancy, but God showed His faithfulness as the joy and expanse of my motherhood encompassed one more, on the 14th of July, 1995, hottest day on record in Windsor, Ontario to date.
It took a lot of prayer and faith to see their baby brother enter the world. God gave me a dream of a baby boy who was born weighing 10lbs 2oz,
due in time for his Daddy's birthday! We held onto that promise tightly when I went into terrifying pre-term labour at 26 weeks.
Once again, God showed His faithfulness when 3 days after his birthday, on November 19, 1998, James held his 10lb 3oz baby boy, Adam James.
It's been an incredible journey, nursing them as I held these tiny miracles close, nursing them through sickness, sleeping next to my toddler in the hospital bed, sitting by the door to the hall so I had enough light to read my bible, tears staining the pages, while not disturbing the sleeping angels in the hospital room behind me. Sitting all night vigils with concussions, kissing booboos and hurt feelings.
Cleaning up vomit and changing bed sheets in the middle of the night and on my knees praying beside little beds as they screamed, inconsolable, with night terrors.
Experiencing fullness of joy as I lead my firstborn into the new birth and watching her siblings follow suit.
The combined joy and pain of watching our little ones grow and start kindergarten, then high school.
The terror and pride of sitting in the passenger seat with a new driver. Swelling with pride as they graduate high school with Honours and Awards, and then as the University acceptance letters come.
The feelings that overwhelm when they start dating and then the indescribable mish mash of feelings when you sit across from a young man, who asks for your daughter's hand. The incredible joy and sorrow as I walked down the aisle as the Mother of the Bride.
Where do I begin? Where does it end? It began with a blood test and it ends when I see Jesus face to face... Would I say my children are my life? No, not all of it. Would I give my life in exchange for theirs? In a heartbeat.
When I think about how much I love my children, it overwhelms me. When I think about how much more God loves me, and my children, I can hardly stand under the weight of those feelings.
Being a mother is the hardest and most rewarding job I've ever been given and I thank God every day for the precious gifts of my children.
Sometimes I've failed, losing my temper and faltering in faith, and sometimes I've flourished, but through it all He has been my gracious pillar holding me up and letting me enjoy the smallest moments; cuddles and sticky kisses, handmade cards and dandelion bouquets to the big ones; graduations, driver's licences and watching them walk down the aisle.
It's been a wonderful journey,
one I wouldn't trade for anything and one day, in the not too far off future I hope, I'll start a new journey as a Grandmother, an experience I'm sure that will be totally grand. ;)
About: Mary-Lyn
Hello! Let me introduce myself.
I was born Mary-Lyn Rose Kelly;
Rose because my father says I was as beautiful as a rose, when I was born!
23+ years ago I changed my last name to Vandolder, when I married James, my mighty man of God.
I am his wife and joyful mother to our 3 children. Jenna, Faith, and Adam...and as of 11 months ago mother-in-law to Nathan Wolfe.
I've been a stay-at-home-mom for about 19 years and I've worn many hats than we have time for here.
I'm called "Marsha" by my
Heavenly Father.
Marsha means 'Warrior' and he has called me to battle for the hearts and minds of young women in crisis.
Next to raising my children and being wife to my husband this is my greatest challenge and joy!
Philippians 4:19
is the standard for my life:
"I can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens me!!"
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