Parenting can feel like a daunting task.   Today, I want to introduce you to my friend, Holly. Holly speaks for women’s groups and has her own blog. Check it out   http://www.hollyworley.com/

I asked Holly to reflect on her first year of motherhood and to write about some lessons she learned during this past year.

We’d love to hear from you. So leave a comment. Let us know how motherhood is going for you. What did you find most helpful in your first year of motherhood? What lessons did you learn?

Here are Holly’s thoughts:

“Nobody is strong enough to be a parent. We just do it, blindly, going forward on faith and love and hope. That’s all it is…Being afraid…and going on.”

– Kristin Hannah

These words have pierced my soul since we welcomed our sweet baby girl into the world last May. Wow, it’s been a year already! Where did the time go? I’ve blinked and the last year has passed me by! I will never forget the nurse’s words at the hospital, “You are free to go, pack up, and take this sweet little one home.” Wait, are you sure we’re ready for this? Worry raced through my head as I thought of not having the nurses around or someone showing me how to take care of this 6 pound, 13 ounce little human. Fear coursed through my veins. I had no choice but to keep going, move on and try my best. I can say now that at that moment I was signing up for the biggest adventure of my life. This last year has definitely been the hardest, most sleepless, most rewarding, most challenging, and most fun filled year of my life (and the adventure is just beginning)! I have learned a lot to say the least, but three lessons in particular stand out to me.

LIVE well

“LET GO” are the words the Lord keeps telling me. You are not in control of your life or this beautiful little girl’s life. Not having control is one of the hardest realities I think any parent can face. We have two options- we can freak out and turn into control monsters (bubble wrap our children and not let them do anything that could potentially cause a “boo boo”) or we can get on our knees, give our children back to the Lord and pray His will for their lives. When we choose the second option, this is when we LIVE well knowing He has got our little ones wrapped in His arms.

LAUGH often

I will never forget our first night home from the hospital. It was sometime between the ungodly hours of 12am-3am and all of us were awake! The baby was crying, I was crying because she was crying, and my husband was laughing. At first I couldn’t believe he was laughing, but then I heard that whisper inside me, the Holy Spirit saying, “It’s ok to not know what you’re doing”. I will never forget this moment as it taught me to not take “being mommy” too seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that being a parent is a serious job with lots of responsibility, but I realized that I can’t be perfect at it. Sometimes it’s best to have a good laugh, regroup, and try again.

LOVE completely

Loving this little girl has helped give me see a glimpse of the Father’s love for me. I am blown away that He loves me even more than I love Ellyana! God has challenged me this last year to LOVE this little girl and others completely! To love like He loves and have no regrets. Someday when my time comes to exit this life and meet Jesus, I hope to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have loved me and others above all else!”

Being a parent is an adventure that comes with many highs and lows. It’s not being perfect or having everything figured out. It is taking one step at a time, many times in fear, but trusting God will guide our path and our child’s path. Let the adventure continue!