Your Identity as a Child of God

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I think motherhood and breastfeeding are such important and beautiful gifts from God! I have read countless books on these topics and have spent many hours contemplating the vocation of motherhood. Through the practice of ecological breastfeeding, I will have many more wonderful years with children at home due to the spacing of my family. My experience as a mom has truly transformed me.

However, there is one “identity” that is even more important than these: the fact that you and I are children of God. Yes, the way we are called to serve God right now is through nursing our babies, and loving our families but our utmost worth and identify comes from God.

We may have not had the birth, breastfeeding, or mothering experiences so far that we had hoped for. However, we do our best with our circumstances and offer everything to our loving Creator. We can also keep praying that God will change our experiences if He wills it. If you would like the moms in the CNML Facebook group to pray for you, email me your intentions or request to join the group. 

One day, our babies will wean and will be old enough to not need our help with all those little tasks such as washing hands and cutting up food at dinner and getting ready for a bath. One day they will learn to read, learn to drive a car (definitely scary!), and maybe learn calculus! And then one day our babies will even grow up and move onto all the other wonderful things God has called them to.

As time goes on, the work God gives you and me will change. However, through it all, we will still be daughters of the King and our goal will always remain the same: to know, love and serve God in this world and in the next.

What are some ways to know, love and serve God when you have a nursling?

When you have little ones, saying little prayers sprinkled throughout your day may be all you have the energy for. And God understands that! The Catholic Nursing Mothers League offers little gift bags for nursing moms for this reason. There is a one decade rosary included because busy nursing moms may only have time to pray one decade! Send me an email at catholicbreastfeeding@yahoo.com and I will mail you one.

Some moms set up a small prayer corner in their homes. If you have a special nursing area, that could even be your prayer corner. The benefit of something like this is when you have a spare minute, everything is ready and you can just sit down and spend time with God. You might include a Bible or a booklet such as The Word Among UsWord Among Us, a rosary, an icon of Jesus, and maybe a book for spiritual reading. One book that combines the topics of breastfeeding and motherhood with our Catholic faith is Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood. If you would like a copy, send me an email, and I will send it to you as a gift.

Frequenting the sacraments is another way to stay close to God. Take your baby to Mass, confession and even adoration for a few minutes. If you need to use the cry room, that is perfectly okay! I spent many years in there with my kids! 

Try to get together with other Catholic moms for encouragement and support! This can be a playgroup, a Bible study, a mom’s night out or even an online breastfeeding support group meeting.

Written by Gina Peterson

What are some ways you stay close to God in this season of nursing babies and changing diapers? Please share in the comments. Thanks!