The Secrets

Because time is short before my husband deploys I will be having a few people guest post for me so that I can spend more time with my husband before he leaves. Today, I would like you to welcome Erika from Champanachik. Her post today is absolutely beautiful and should resonate with any mother.

We always think our children are beautifully unique- that they are the proverbial snowflake, unlike any other. But as I sat in the church nursery, rescuing one crying baby after another, I started to get the feeling that maybe they were much more similar than I had given them credit for in the past. They all missed their mothers,  they all wanted Cheerios for their snack, and they all seemed bent on handing me any spare toy they could find. It seemed as if their small personalities had been left at the door.

My mind kept drifting back to my daughter Millie, who was at home. I thought about how full of life she is, and how she fascinates me with her sense of humor and the new skills she seems to pick up every day. She is a girl unlike all others to me.

It struck me then that I know her secrets. Even a 14 month old has them, and they share them carefully and selectively. But as her mother, if only for a few more years, I am honored to know them all.

I know all her words. Words that she won’t say to anyone else, no matter how much I try to show her off, become a constant, sing-song chatter at home. I know every expression that crosses her face. I know the sounds of her different cries, and what they mean. I know how she concentrates for a while before attempting to say “flower”, and how she loves to point at something to hear me name it for her. I know her brilliance, her frustrations, and the soft, tiny snoring sounds she makes after a long day of play. I know her heart.

I realized, in those moments, that the babies in that room were absolutely unique. Their mothers know all the precious, intricate details that make them who they are. Even when those things weren’t on display, it didn’t make them any less real. But not only that- it made me consider that God looks at all of us in just the same way. Although we may not see something particularly different or valuable in someone else, God is our Father, and sees us in a light like no one else.

He knows our secrets. He knows our hearts. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. He know our hopes and the places where our faith falters. A mother loves her child with the strongest love, and sees that child’s greatest potential, but His love and faith in us is stronger than even a mother could ever know. We are that priceless and that beautiful in His eyes.

(Thank you, Kathryn, for letting me be your guest today! I hope you are enjoying lots of quality time with your husband and Adam.)

Erika is the wife of a Army National Guard veteran, and the stay at home mama to beautiful baby girl named Millie. She lives in a small, flat, Midwestern college town (hence the name of her blog), and spends her days caught up in writing and blogging, photography, and dreaming big dreams for the future. You can read all her secrets at www.chambanachik-live.blogspot.com.