Joy 

When I recount the early days of having had my daughter – to another mum, or to someone checking my health history – the frequent gasps and face pulling tell me that it wasn’t a straightforward journey. Perhaps we didn’t have it so easy. Our girl was born with a posterior tongue-tie – hard to diagnose, and causing massive problems for feeding, both for mum and babe. It was followed by severe infection needing surgical treatment, another threat to being able to feed, and I’m wondering if most new mums are going through this.

For me, there was a mixture of naivety on this journey. Being a first-time mum, my mum and mother-in-law both far away, and a of nervousness around asking for help that meant these problems, just felt like things I needed to get through.

But besides a resolute decision to push through pain and difficulty, I chose joy. Some days it was a choice, and otherwise it was a downright fight, but the journey to having our daughter was such that it taught me, through knocks and beatings, that I had to fight for a joyful perspective.

Joy will not fall into your lap day after day. Happiness may, on the good days, but it can be a fickle friend, gone the time it takes for a toddler tantrum to blow in. Instead, choose joy.

Choose to find your hope in Christ. Not in the achievements of your child. Not in their moods or moments. Find yourself a firmer ground to stand on. The beautiful thing is that when you Anchor yourself in Christ, when you choose Him as a foundation, you can equally absorb the sunshine of an unexpected hug from a teenager and rebuff the tempest of angry words shouted through a slammed door.

When you choose the joy of the Lord to be the thermostat to your mood, the chilly moods or warm hugs can affect a moment in your day, without dictating its direction. The joy of the Lord enables you to choose which of each day to treasure and take forward and which to learn from and then leave behind. Joy will not fall into your lap day after day. Happiness may, on the good days, but it can be a fickle friend, gone the time it takes for a toddler tantrum to blow in. Instead, choose joy.

A Prayer for Mothers:

Thank you, Lord, that you give us your joy as our strength. I pray for all the mums around me, that you would strengthen them today. That you would breathe fresh strength into them today, Holy Spirit, and remind them that you are always with them, guiding them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

My Prayer as a Mother: 

Thank you, Lord, that in my weakness you are strong. That when there is nothing left in me, that is when you shine through. Refill me with your joy. Remind me that my strength is in you, not in my performance, or in my kids’ behaviour. Keep my joy planted securely in you whatever I face today. In Jesus’ name, amen.