Thankful Mama Part 2: Extra Thankful
By Mary Kathryn Laws
Avery County
We are coming up on the season of thanks. This is a time for us all to look back on what we are thankful for. Last year I was thankful to be able to spend our first Thanksgiving as a family of three.
This year I am thankful I will be able to spend it as a family of four.
Although I’m thankful, this is a new and intimidating season of my life. I was just starting to get the hang of having one, but that’s all changed now. As it got closer for Micah to be born, I began having mixed emotions. How would I love another baby as much as I did JC? Would he be jealous of Micah? How will I manage two under two years old? I tried to put on a brave face for everyone, but if I was being honest I was scared.
My mom told me before Micah was born that I would have plenty of room to love them both. If she was able to do it with six of us, then I for sure could do it with two boys. When Micah was born it was love at first sight, just like it was when JC was born. We are three weeks in as a family of four and JC loves his little brother. I can’t imagine life without these boys.
Some would consider the emotions I was feeling as “anxiety”. I heard it once said that gratitude and anxiety cannot coexist. You have to choose one. I am choosing to be grateful for the two boys God has blessed me with. I am choosing to rely on Him through this new, unfamiliar season of motherhood. I am choosing to give thanks.
If you are feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed this holiday season, I challenge you to practice gratitude. I hope you find that there is always something to be thankful for and that through
challenging times we can rely on God to get us through.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Psalm 34:8
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Mary-Kathryn Laws is the daughter of Chastity Ogburn, Founder of Anne Ministries. In 2018, the Lord put on Chastity’s heart the calling to reach out to those hurting from loss. Anne Ministries began in September 2018. Anne means “grace” and that is what this ministry is about, extending God’s grace and allowing Him to heal your deepest hurt. This ministry reaches out to those hurting from abortion, miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss. The ministry expanded in 2021 offering pregnancy support services to those facing an unplanned pregnancy. Chastity and her family attend Emmanuel Baptist Church in Newland, NC. You can purchase her book, His Grace Covers All, on Amazon HERE.
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