A new direction
"The apple does not fall far from the tree" is a common idiom that describes how similar children are to their parents. Well, I see myself in this idiom today. Here I am now, 28 years old, married to the love of my life, with a toddler in daycare and a newborn sleeping in her rocking chair near me as I decide to take up writing again.
This blog was initially created so I could write about my religion and show my support for positions that are not always popular in our society. At the time I was a single college student who wanted to write. Now, I'm a wife and a mother and I would like to veer off my initial blog purpose to write about just that: being a Christian Catholic wife and a mother.
I know it sounds so average -- just about every other person is a wife and mother -- but we all do things in a unique way. There are many women I know who I look up to as perfect examples for me to follow, and I wanted to share my story of how my family chooses to live our faith and how as a busy working mom I try to continue to grow as well.
So, during my 3 month of maternity leave I hope to leave a small insight of what I'm learning, and how the girls are growing.
First thing's first: the arrival of our second daughter
I became pregnant with our second daughter when my first child was 6 months. It took us a little by surprise. Our due date was on Easter Vigil (March 31, 2018), but due to complications and my doctor's worry about the size of her head being smaller than 1% average, she was born on March 28th through a cesarean delivery. We spent holy week in the hospital, tending to the little newborn-- resting, breastfeeding, and eating in a loop. We were able to go home on Holy Thursday, and on Good Friday my parents dropped off our firstborn. So here we were, with not much sleep, tending a newborn and our adjusting toddler who was curious and jealous of her new sister.
All this time, most specially during the surgery as I was worried and scared, I had remembered the Jesus prayer from the book "The Way of a Pilgrim." In the book the pilgrim strives to 'pray without ceasing' and repeats this small prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." I had learned an alternate version adding 'son of David' -- "Lord Jesus Christ, son of David, have mercy on me." This small repeated prayer came to my aid as I shook with fear before the surgery. I was so nervous that I knew if I prayed even a Hail Mary I would start to cry and shake more. As my husband took my hand and looked into my eyes while I was on the surgery table, I prayed. More importantly, when we were home, exhausted and tired from both girls, and I in bed not being able to help out with anything and on the verge of having all hell break loose due to our fatigue and impatience, I prayed. Have mercy on me Lord. Make Justice against my adversary. The beauty of this time of turmoil and difficulty is the peace and love that has blossomed in our marriage, thanks to Christ's teaching on forgiveness and on how to love.
I look forward to seeing this love blossom even more. I end with one of my favorite bible passages that reminds me to see beyond the small bickering and impatience that can come between our marriage. It reminds me to be a strong woman -- for my family first and foremost, and for the rest of humanity. It reminds me that the strength comes from God, from his infinite love for us as his adopted sons and daughters through our baptism.
This blog was initially created so I could write about my religion and show my support for positions that are not always popular in our society. At the time I was a single college student who wanted to write. Now, I'm a wife and a mother and I would like to veer off my initial blog purpose to write about just that: being a Christian Catholic wife and a mother.
I know it sounds so average -- just about every other person is a wife and mother -- but we all do things in a unique way. There are many women I know who I look up to as perfect examples for me to follow, and I wanted to share my story of how my family chooses to live our faith and how as a busy working mom I try to continue to grow as well.
So, during my 3 month of maternity leave I hope to leave a small insight of what I'm learning, and how the girls are growing.
First thing's first: the arrival of our second daughter
I became pregnant with our second daughter when my first child was 6 months. It took us a little by surprise. Our due date was on Easter Vigil (March 31, 2018), but due to complications and my doctor's worry about the size of her head being smaller than 1% average, she was born on March 28th through a cesarean delivery. We spent holy week in the hospital, tending to the little newborn-- resting, breastfeeding, and eating in a loop. We were able to go home on Holy Thursday, and on Good Friday my parents dropped off our firstborn. So here we were, with not much sleep, tending a newborn and our adjusting toddler who was curious and jealous of her new sister.
All this time, most specially during the surgery as I was worried and scared, I had remembered the Jesus prayer from the book "The Way of a Pilgrim." In the book the pilgrim strives to 'pray without ceasing' and repeats this small prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." I had learned an alternate version adding 'son of David' -- "Lord Jesus Christ, son of David, have mercy on me." This small repeated prayer came to my aid as I shook with fear before the surgery. I was so nervous that I knew if I prayed even a Hail Mary I would start to cry and shake more. As my husband took my hand and looked into my eyes while I was on the surgery table, I prayed. More importantly, when we were home, exhausted and tired from both girls, and I in bed not being able to help out with anything and on the verge of having all hell break loose due to our fatigue and impatience, I prayed. Have mercy on me Lord. Make Justice against my adversary. The beauty of this time of turmoil and difficulty is the peace and love that has blossomed in our marriage, thanks to Christ's teaching on forgiveness and on how to love.
I look forward to seeing this love blossom even more. I end with one of my favorite bible passages that reminds me to see beyond the small bickering and impatience that can come between our marriage. It reminds me to be a strong woman -- for my family first and foremost, and for the rest of humanity. It reminds me that the strength comes from God, from his infinite love for us as his adopted sons and daughters through our baptism.
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph 6:10-17)
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