Through the eyes of a Mother.
It's the first cry of her child that a mother listens for in the delivery room of the hospital. With a shrill exhale from her gift from heaven her fears are laid to rest, and she too exhales a sigh of relief. All of her pain and rigors have now become a silent memory because of her overwhelming maternal need to see her baby. At the first sight she knows that there's nothing in the world more beautiful than the child that is nestled in her arms. With all of her attention she scans her baby's little face leaving no detail unnoticed. Love and adoration are the lenses by which she sees. In her eyes her new bundle of joy is a sight of perfection. Her love has now found a new home.
She has seen family and friends come visit their newest member. In their clamor, she hears the echoing praises about her offspring that forces her to grin. But it's the knowledge of being needed by her little one that wins her whole smile. Looking at her infant, she is reminded of that first touch from their tiny hand against her face, that captivated her heart. Purpose and necessity now set the course for her life. For in the face of her child she peers into her own future. Because it's in this natural course of life that she is made a new with the purpose of being needed by a child. She is a mother.
She has seen many sleepless nights worrying over a fevers that wouldn't brake in the years that have passed. She has spent what seems like eons contemplating how to juggle her work and home life. She's doctored cut knees and mended hurt feelings. She has expended many hours preparing meals and doing house work in her job as a "domestic engineer." Her eyes have feasted on countless works of art doodled by her child on the refrigerator door. And through it all she cherishes most, the evening times when her world would slow down. With her toddler curled up in her lap sleeping contentedly, she runs her fingers across a tiny head of hair. With a soft smile she looks loving at the small freckled nose and sticky little fingers covered in cookie crumbs and colored clay. She cuddles in close, once again feeling her little one's heartbeat next to her. In this moment she becomes aware that her little bundle of energy still needs her as much now as the first time she looked at that adorable face.
She has seen the years come and go much to fast for her liking. It seems that time has escalated its advance in removing her influence over her child. Through her eyes she has seen the first signs of independence in her teenager. How she misses the picnics at the park, when her little youngster would run to her with something that they found. With wide eyed jubilation and glee they would present a flower, bug or some other such item to express their love for her.
Those times have now passed because her child's horizons have broadened. The world seems to have a stronger pull than ever before. She doesn't want to except that her child is growing up before her eyes. Slowly she is being replaced by new friends and hobbies that pull hard at her apron strings.
Still more years pass. She has seen time finally escape with her child. By it's influence they have grown up and moved away from her. It appears that their frequent long talks have been traded in for short conversations punctuated with the words "I'll call you mom." Now all that she sees are pictures around her house of a child that has grown into the loving adult that God meant for them to be. How proud she is that all of the years of Sunday school and proper teaching are showing up in their life. But yet her heart longs for the years of empty cookies jars and a house full of laughter. How she misses all of the backyard fun and bedtime prayers. Her mind meanders through the past when her life seemed so busy, but oh so happy. But in her present life, with her nest empty and her cookie jar full, her maternal purposes seem to be in jeopardy
She has now seen the twilight years of life. Love still grows strong in her heart, and the years have not diminished her passion for her child. In the past tears may have clouded her vision at times, but she never lost sight of her goals for raising her offspring. Her eyes are still deep pools of nurturing love with the ability to silently express emotion with the position of a brow.
Once again she finds herself in the hospital awaiting the sound of a child's cry. Her child is there in the hospital room to experience the birth of their first baby. Again her fears are laid to rest by the sound of a beautiful cry down the hall. Life has now come full circle. Through her eyes she has seen her child having a baby of their own. By this extraordinary event to miraculous to explain, her child has now became a parent. How beautiful this scene is to her. She remembers what it felt like to bring a life in to this world. She looks in to that tiny little face she sees an empty cookie jar and a house full of laughter once more. She can see weekend sleep overs and spoiling a kid rotten then sending them home. She looks to see a tiny hand reach out and touch their mothers face with trust and dependency and she is content in the knowledge that she is needed again. In the eyes of that grandchild she is renewed.
