Waiting, Birthing, Mothering and Grandparenting

I have some exciting news coming this August! I would love for you to come to the retreat on August 2nd and learn what is coming to the Holy Pause Community! It will be a day to retreat and be reminded that YOU ARE HIS BELOVED DAUGHTER.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for this upcoming retreat. I can't wait to share what's in store!

Take a minute or two to breathe and be present right where you are. Notice where your feet are. Maybe you want to light a candle. Notice God's presence is with you.

Notice and name something your heart is waiting for? Take a minute to name and reflect.

Is it that job you have been wanting, a relationship to be mended, anxiety and depression to go away, physical healing, an adult child to come 'home', the positive pregnancy test, your marriage to be mended, a deeper spiritual walk?

As we approach Mothers' Day, I always hold it with tender care. I have walked this past year with women who are struggling with infertility, miscarriages and yet are waiting. I have walked with those struggling to hold it all together as a mom.

I am walking with my daughter who announced last September that she is pregnant!! What a joy to walk with her in her waiting! (I couldn't resist a sweet picture.)

(This is three generations. Right to Left. My sweet mom, me, Brooke, Kaitlin (my daughters) and Haley, our daughter-in-law.)

I notice the smiles. The joy. The anticipation of a new birth. Something is also being birthed in each of us. Becoming an aunt. Becoming a grandparent. Becoming a great-grandparent. Generations of mothering and waiting to become a mother.

I remember that day, I laid across my bed at the age of eighteen. "God, what is my calling?" I use that word very loosely. I think we all have the same 'calling'. Love God. Love others as ourselves. We all live out this calling in our different talents, gifts and abilities. I bet you have asked the same thing as some point in your life. What is my 'calling'?

I remember naming my deepest desire...to be a mom that day laying across my bed.

I would dream. I would imagine. I would wait.

Family has always been important to me. I dreamed of the day I would have my own family. I dreamed of having a large family. A family to love and share the the love of my life, my Lord and Savior, Christ. I wanted my children to grow up knowing how much He loved them and to know they were put in our family for a purpose. And put on the earth for a purpose. He had a plan for their little lives.

"God, could this be my calling? To become a mom."

Many years later, I will never forget the day the pregnancy test would confirm that in fact, a little human was growing inside of me.

The waiting. The birthing process. Becoming a mother. Becoming a grandmother in the next few weeks. (I can hardly contain my excitement!)

Twenty eight years later, five incredible kids later, an amazing daughter in law, two amazing son in laws....I look back on this 'calling'. I gave birth to our first born on March 1st, 1997. This day would change me forever. I remember holding him and being scared to death as I entered this new season of motherhood. So many questions.

My heart breaks for those who are in their waiting. God sees you. I pray that you know that you can share every single part of you with the God who created you. Nothing is a surprise to Him. I pray you feel held by Him.

One of life's greatest gifts this side of heaven is being a mom!

We are all in a birthing process. God is bringing about 'new births' in each of us every single day. Pausing to notice what those are can be key to who we are becoming.

The birthing process requires labor, pain and delivery.

Labor, pain and delivery are the Jesus way too. He gave us a new birth in Him! We are a new creation. This new birth can be messy and as I like to say, two steps forward and ten steps backward on my best days. I am finally learning to embrace all of it.

Learning to embrace. All. of. it.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

I love what a dear friend shared one day, "Imperfect is Perfect". I have grown to love that. She was saying the we can come as we are in His lovingkindness, He meets us right where we are.

No matter where you find yourself...waiting, birthing, or mothering...I pray you know Christ is near. I pray you embrace the process. He is doing something in you. He is inviting you to become...more like Him.

Women, no matter where you are on this journey, may you know that you are God's Delight. On your best days and your worst days. "Imperfect is Perfect".

When He sees you, He sees.....Christ!

You are His treasured possession!

I invite you to practice a Holy Pause this week.

Take a few minutes to Pause. Pray. Follow.

Pause to notice what is going on in and around you. Jesus is with you.

Spend a few minutes in silence. Maybe you want to grab your journal and write a few of your thoughts on paper.

Lord, I feel ______. Come just as you are. Maybe you want to go somewhere that brings you joy — your back porch, a garden, a nearby hiking trail. This practice of a few minutes of pausing and naming in my journal has been transformational.

Reflect on what you named that you are waiting for earlier? What emotions do you notice that come up as you wait? Do you allow yourself to feel them and express them to someone safe?

Who are you becoming as you wait?

Pray and invite the Lord into a conversation.

Prayer can be sitting in a few moments of silence and letting God be with you. Imagine Jesus is sitting with you. He is simply sitting with you in the silence. Spend 5 minutes sitting in the silence. Oh, this might be very hard. It's ok. It is hard for all of us. What do you notice in the silence? Maybe offer a prayer of gratitude to God for the silence and being with you.

Could it be in the silence we can know God in a deeper way?

Follow and ask the Lord to help you go where He goes.

What are God's invitations today?

Breathe. Rest in Him. Let Go. Receive that He is enough. Be. Look for Joy. Go play. Do something you love today. Invite others to play with you. Laugh. Waiting is holy space. Cry. Read your favorite bible passage or story. Journal. Paint. Plant a garden. Hug your kids tightly. Fix a fun meal and invite others over. Learn to practice forgiving yourself and others. Show yourself grace. Be kind to those around you.

Wait. Dream. Become.

Remember how God sees you. It is a beautiful masterpiece to behold.

Happy Mother's Day, Moms on May 11th! I will become a grandparent the time the next blog post comes out! For now, I will wait with my daughter and embrace who she is becoming and be in awe and wonder as this precious little girl waits to come into the world and take her first breath. It is truly a miracle.

Mark you calendars for August 2nd Retreat, 'You are My Beloved Daughter'!

Finding beauty in the small things,

Tracie Tackett

Spiritual Companion

Reach out at tracietack@gmail.com for learn more about Discernment Groups and Spiritual Direction! I would love to chat:)