A love like this.

No one, and nothing, could have ever prepared me for the deep, heart-wrenching love I feel in my heart for this sweet child.


I may have told you this already, but back before I was pregnant, I always used to hear "Oh, you'll never understand how it is until you have your own child..." And as a woman who deeply yearned to have a child, I always (and sinfully) took offense to this, thinking that somehow it implied I wasn't part of the "cool" club who actually knew what love was like.


But then, I actually had my own child.

And then, I understood.


It's not that I didn't know love before I had Georgia, but surely, I had never know a love like this.  


A parent's love for their child is such a wonderful reflection of God's love for us, His children.  Truly unconditional.  Our Father comforts us when we are crying.  He disciplines us when we disobey.  He stretches us and teaches us and wants nothing more than for us to have a relationship with Him.  


But the discipline can be hard on our parenting hearts, can't it?  "This hurts me more than it hurts you." Growing up, I hated hearing this!  How could it hurt my parent to spank me more than it hurt me to be spanked?!  


Oh, but how true it is! 

Nevertheless, discipline is a must.  We are called to train our children up in the way they should go; teach them self-control; teach them obedience; teach them respect; and teach them manners.  We are called to discipline out of obedience to our Father and to discipline out of love; never out of anger.


And so, we discipline.  And then we hug and all is forgiven - all is forgotten.


I think God has called some of us to parenting so that we can not only learn to be completely reliant on His grace and mercy for survival, but also so that we can see the beautiful display of love he has for His children.


And while we continue to learn and adapt to the ever-changing parent demands, I am ever-more thankful for this gift.  This challenge.  This blessing.