Words to Remember

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."
And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

~Khalil Gibran

My prayer is that I remember that I am but a vessel to bring forth this child for the glory of God. May I do it as a good steward, and with a good spirit always. May my life teach with love and conviction the truth of the gospel. Let me not seek to make them imitations of myself, but rather, help me to teach them that they are made in the image of God and to strive to reflect His glory and love. Lord, prepare my heart to be the mother that this child needs. I thank You, Father, for this miraculous gift, and in my thanks, I give him or her back to You that You may use this child for your glory. Amen.