A year of miracles

Yesterday was my daughter's 1st birthday, and it was a wonderful day! Not only because of the fun, food, and friends and remembering how she has changed and grown over the last year, but also because of how I've changed and grown because of her.

Nothing can prepare you for being a parent. NOTHING. I thought that since we had been married 6 years, finally had bought a house, were (relatively) financially secure, and walked beside many friends with children, that transitioning into parenthood would be pretty easy. Like I said, nothing can prepare you for parenthood. Everything I ever was and everything I ever thought I knew, changed when Sammy was laid on my chest at 7:04 a.m. Saturday, October 22, 2005.

And how have I changed? I have incredible patience when it comes to her. (I'm still working on having more patience with my husband though!) I have so much more sympathy and empathy for others because of her...tears flow so much more because Sammy has touched my heart so deeply. Little things don't bother me quite as much. Life with a baby (well, now she's more of a toddler) has made me more laid back, the laundry doesn't have to get done today and I can let Sammy take out EVERY piece of tupperware...even though having plastic dishes all over my kitchen floor would have driven me crazy a year ago.

Many friends came to our house to celebrate with us, and many more friends and family called to wish Sammy a happy birthday. But when my mom called, she asked how I was doing before she asked about Sammy. Because while October 22 is Sammy's birthday, it is also a very special day for me. It was the hardest day of my life. It was painful and hard and rewarding and joyful. (And I know that every mother out there can relate.) It was a day that I became a mother and found strength in myself I didn't know I had.

God is truly a God of miracles. Not only did He knit Sammy perfectly together in my womb and thus miraculously breathe life into my body, but He also miraculously breathed life into my soul and made me a mother...with instinct and love and a nurturing heart. So as I celebrated Sammy's first year of life and the joy that she is, I also celebrated my first year as a mom, and the miracle that God did in me.