Today I anxiously went to get the mail. I was looking for my author copies of Daily Guideposts Your First Year of Motherhood and they were there! As I’ve told you I’m excited about this project. Though I’ve written for years and have been featured in a number of publications, this is the first time my work has appeared in a mainstream book. And the book’s arrival today was perfect, after dealing with loss all around me. This morning I attended my second funeral in a week; I ministered to a woman yesterday who’s still broken after her mother abandoned her 18 years ago; and for the last few days I have been having a major discussion on Facebook about mothers who abandon their children, sparked by an article of a woman who did so to pursue her own dreams. This book, which speaks about pressing forward in the challenging face of new motherhood, reminded me that we can do anything God has commissioned us to do with some help and a Godly perspective.
In addition to the devotionals, Motherhood, has a subject index, to help you easily find topics you’re looking for, and a special concerns section, which includes hard stuff like post-partum depression, dealing with loneliness and keeping your marriage healthy. My own devotionals center on a change in my outlook. I tell you why a crying baby is a good thing; how to get a vacation while in the midst of mothering; how two women criticizing my mothering helped me; and why I had to fire a good babysitter. Remembering the stories I wrote and anticipating reading those of my colleagues helped me focus on what I have: a great opportunity to grow and nurture even with loss, that around me and even personally; not being able to go when I want, where I want and doing all I want are temporary, losses so worthwhile because of what I gain from pouring into my boys.
So join the discussion on Facebook and make sure you buy Motherhood. Just click the link here on the site. You don’t have to be in your first year of motherhood to get it. Buy it for a new mom you know; buy it to revisit how you may want to mother your other children; buy it to give some fresh perspective to a young mom you know. I believe you will be pleased.
Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith