This weekend, we take a moment to recognise, thank and celebrate the mothers and mother figures in our lives. As a new mum, this is my second Mother’s Day, and I thought a devotional article would be a lovely way to encourage the mummies in Bermuda.

The journey to motherhood is amazing with so many emotions and experiences. From the moment I saw the pregnancy test, to the moment I held my newborn in my arms and every day since; God has been blessing me with lessons and revelations of his love and grace through the ministry of motherhood. I will share these lessons with you this Mother’s Day.

Lesson one, this baby is a blessing and a gift. The Word tells us that God chose us to be in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), that He knits us together in our mother's womb (Psalms 139: 13-14), and that He has a plan for the lives of his children (Jeremiah 29:11).

This lesson was God pouring out an extra dosage of His Peace. A reminder that my little one was God’s first and mine second. He has trusted me to be the vessel in bringing this bundle of joy into the world.

That He has trusted me with such a precious responsibility encouraged me to claim the promise, He will not leave me, nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:8), in providing for, guiding, and raising my little one.

Lesson two, as literal as my little foetus and I being inseparable for the next 39 weeks is also how literal the promise God gave when He said He abides in me and I in him (1 John 4:13-16).

This verse is one that I pondered frequently. I could not wrap my mind around the concept that the God of the universe abides in me and I in Him.

Being pregnant, this object lesson just hit differently. For the next 39 weeks, my baby would be abiding in me, and I abiding with him. There is no place I could go, no activity I could do that this abiding would not be. God established at that moment, this was my reality in Him as his daughter, that there is no place I could go, no activity I could do that our abiding together was not occurring.

Lesson three, count it all as joy. Pregnancy is no walk in the park. In the early stages, before the baby bump, the foetus is so small that you don’t feel it. Although not fun at all, I came to appreciate the symptoms of morning sickness and fatigue because it was evidence my body was still doing something.

While enduring these discomforts, I counted them as joy as it was evident to me that my little one was growing. This reminded me we can count all life’s trials and tribulations as joy (James 1: 2-4), because each trial and tribulation is an opportunity for the refinement of character.

The final lesson was reaffirmed throughout my entire pregnancy. God was doing the growing. Upon realising there was nothing I could do to ensure reaching full term and birthing a healthy baby, I was simply in awe of God’s majesty.

My job was to co-labour with God by doing my part in keeping my body healthy and safe. Being grateful that the safest place my bundle of joy could be is in God’s hands and knowing it is a privilege to trust God in this process having faith that everything will be all right.

Believing if anything should go unexpectedly wrong, God will give me the strength and comfort to navigate any trial and tribulation.

I am full of gratitude to say that God gave me strength and I birthed a healthy and happy baby and blessed me with so many lessons along the journey that I hope can be a blessing to every mother and mother-to-be.

Blessings.