Letters to My Child: You Are Loved

After the initial shock and elation settled that I was actually going to be a mommy, I decided that I wanted to do something for each of my children that they might appreciate and maybe look back at much later in life. About a month ago I purchased a Moleskin notebook, and plan on writing letters to Baby Fox in it over the course of the next say... 18 years, then when they graduate high school, I'll give it to them. Obviously I won't be sharing most of these on my blog, but I might share a few, including this first one that I just wrote.

I feel that this will be a good way for my children to look back at their childhood and see how much they are loved. I know that we will make mistakes, and that sometimes even if we are acting out of love they might not see it at the time, so maybe this will help them see the treasure of their lives from the perspective of their mom.

To my little baby-

You are 16 weeks along in my belly, and you are loved. You have been loved since before we even knew that we were having you. Next week we find out if you are a boy or girl, but honestly that doesn't really matter to us because we would love you the same either way. 

Over the next 18 years, we will watch you grow and help you in the best ways that we can and know how. We will make some mistakes, and sometimes you might even doubt how much you are loved, but you are loved deeply. We will not be able to love you perfectly because we are not perfect, but the One who is perfect loves you perfectly. God has known you since before you were even an idea in our hearts, and He loves you perfectly as your eternal Father when we fall short.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139 13-16

Along the way, we might stumble on our selfish hopes and dreams for your life, but our only true hope is that you will grow to know and love the Lord your God, Jesus Christ and trust in Him as your true hope in life. We will want to make things easier for you when we can't and fix problems for you that are impossible for us to fix, but you can and you will be able to get through these things with hope and trust in Christ.

By the time I give this book to you, you will be 18 years old and unable to picture your mom at that age, but as I'm writing this, 18 years wasn't so long ago for me. I remember more vividly than I might later on of the struggles and temptations you will face in these next few years. So as you face them, take courage and realize that your identity is not found in how much money you make, what school you go to, the relationships you have, your victories, or your failures; Your identity is found at the foot of the Cross of Jesus. 

You are loved, unconditionally, limitlessly, and always by me.

Love,

Your Mom