I think back to when Selah came along. How there wasn't much room in my mind, nor space in my heart to think, dream, breathe, or live anything outside of her. Every second of the day was wrapped up in her, and I loved every bit of it because I was finally a mom. God answered years of prayer and waiting in a matter of days. Just when I felt like I was neck deep in an ocean of endless answer-less-ness, He turned it all around and made everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Suddenly this little 8 pound miracle came to be, and I couldn't imagine my life without her.
A couple of months went by, and things. got. much. harder. Soon I found myself confused.. and to be honest, afraid with the whole concept of bonding...or what I knew, and experienced, as a lack there of. I spent my days reading and researching ways to help with bonding between me and my daughter even though there was nothing terrible happening. She wasn't resisting me, like I was told she possibly would. She seemed to attach well to me, she was thriving in my care, and the transitioning was very well near perfect - proving very wrong some "worst case scenarios" we were given before leaving to go home with her. And I looked into her eyes in awe; so engulfed with thankfulness that we had her... But for some reason, I didn't FEEL like her mom. I loved her so much that I physically ached for her. But my heart seemed unable to grasp the concept of how she could grow up to love me as her mother, and not just as some temporary caregiver. I felt overwhelmed as I watched the days, weeks, and months fly by and despite my deepest desires and efforts, just couldn't feel like I thought I should. I grieved over the time that I felt was lost and missed out on, spent "not feeling like Selah's mom". I felt like I was failing her. And failing God after He blessed me so abundantly.
At about the time she turned 7 months old, I remember waking up one day with a sense of urgency...All I knew was that I was ready and willing to do whatever it took, let go of whatever I had to, and eliminate any distractions that may have been causing me to miss out on my daughter and my heart's understanding that I was very much her mom. I threw myself into what I was doing, and just kind of hoped and prayed that God would give me the unbelievable amount of peace I knew I needed to let this new life sink deep within my heart...until the confusion, tension, and whatever else was making me feel inferior as Selah's mom would no longer exist.
And I'm here to tell you that He did just that.
It didn't happen over night. It took time...lots of time. And patience. Love. And grace. It helped me realize so much, and brought clarity to things that I didn't even recognize were there. And after quite a few months of going through all of this, I am finally ready to sit down and write this part of our story.
What was hindering the fullness of bonding with my sweetest miracle? I'll tell you soon. I'm currently working on breaking this post up into several smaller posts for the sake of fluidity and easiness on the eyes and brain ;) So just check back in the next couple of days.
But I'll leave with this:
It's hard for me to share some of these things. It's hard to put myself out there and expose some the darkest details of my life. But it's what comes out of that darkness that makes it liberating to share. I'm excited to finally write about how God has continued to unfold our story. He took the most difficult moments, when I questioned my worthiness to be momma to my baby...when I was afraid of whether my child truly loved me...when I couldn't see how it would ever feel "normal"...and He reminded me: "I chose you. And I chose this baby. All for My glory. Trust me."
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