As a teenager, I loved and did well with children, but as I grew older there wasn’t room for them in my dreams and plans. I felt the whole world was just waiting for me and that it was my right as a new adult to see and experience everything in life to the full. I felt driven to pursue all my personal dreams and develop my ideals, but it wasn’t long before I began to see that the Lord had a plan for me that was different. Marriage was followed shortly by children, and I questioned, “What happened to my dreams?”

As it turned out, not only did I end up living out the Lord’s plan for me as a mother, but He also blessed me with the fulfillment of many other desires as well. His plans were far better than my limited dreams had been. Having experienced the full cycle of motherhood, I can now look back and tell you from experience that the Lord’s plan fulfilled all my needs and much more. I ended up a winner all around!

Motherhood is a priceless gift destined to last only a few fleeting years. Love and treasure it while you can.

One of the most outstanding things I learned through having babies was to work through prayer. In addition to having more babies—my husband and I had six children in eight years, including a pair of twins—I had other responsibilities to cope with as well. Since I didn’t have any additional time to work with, I had to find some other means of accomplishing things, and that means turned out to be prayer.

I found that I could use those moments when I was nursing my baby to pray about everything else I needed to do. Since I had much more to do than I possibly could on my own, I would ask the Lord for direction as to what to do next, as well as for other solutions for the things that I knew I wasn’t going to get to, and the Lord answered and worked in wonderful ways! He would send some unexpected help or change the situation in answer to my specific prayer, and the mountain of work before me would melt away.

I was amazed at first, but then I became totally dependent on those times. I learned that I could actually accomplish a lot while sitting in my chair with my baby, if I would also use that time to look to the Lord for direction and work with Him through prayer. I soon found that more was getting done because I was working in closer connection with Him. So my babies actually turned out to be a big factor in helping me find and accomplish God’s will in other areas of my life by forcing me to retreat to Him many times a day.

Related to that, I learned to appreciate what I came to call “being confined to God’s will.” With so little time and so little strength of my own, I knew I couldn’t just zip around doing whatever popped into my head at any time. I had to stop and think about what I wanted to accomplish, plan how to do it, and cut out anything else.

Another thing that I learned during that time when my life revolved around the care of my little ones was that my attitude toward circumstances largely determined whether I was happy and victorious, or miserable and complaining. Very often, the physical circumstances didn’t matter that much. At first I was in the dreariest doldrums, but then I began to feel interested and challenged with all there was to learn, and that made all the difference.

Those times alone with Jesus and baby, which began in the early morning hours, became some of the dearest moments of my life, and the relationships that were forged then continued to grow and blossom through the years. I fell in love with each of my babies, and fell deeper in love with Jesus in the process. I changed from a rather self-centered and independent young woman to being hooked on being a mom. What I once dreaded, I came to love. What made the difference? I let the Lord give me a mother’s heart and character, and that was a miracle!

If God has given you children, rise to the challenge. Motherhood is a priceless gift, shot through and through with purest heavenly love, but destined to last only a few fleeting years. Love and treasure it while you can.