Finding Joy in the Rooms of a Mother’s HeartSample

#### The Nursery Would you like to tiptoe into the nursery with me? Would you like to take a deep breath, gaze at the wonder of new life, listen to a lullaby or two, and then spend some time holding the baby? The nursery is the room that is set aside for the dreaming of dreams and pausing to ponder the possibilities that lie ahead. There are no to-do lists in the nursery, only the sweet realization of how temporary the purpose of a nursery actually is. You won’t need a nursery forever but you will never forget the blessing of having one down a hallway in your heart. When a woman steps across the threshold of motherhood, she doesn’t stop dreaming dreams of life-changing destiny. She doesn’t give up a call to greatness nor does she push away all the plans that she had imagined as a young girl. Oh, to be sure, this young mother’s dreams might be altered just a bit and they even may be strengthened by waiting, but she will be a stronger, more creative mom if she spends time in the nursery of her heart, dreaming with the Father. If you are in the springtime of life, you should be planting flowers, not shoveling snow. If you are in an autumn season, you should be harvesting, not weeding. So it is with motherhood; you must know what season of motherhood you are currently in and respond in the appropriate way. There is no applause in a nursery, no diplomas on the wall, nor trophies lined up across the changing table. But it remains the most splendid room in the entire home. The nursery is filled with sweet sighs of contentment. Dreams don’t come with an expiration date. There will come a day and a time when the dreams of your youth will move to prominent priority. But know that for now, your dreams will be fulfilled as you nurture and care for the young lives that you have been given. Dream your dreams, dear mother! You don’t stop living the day that you start nursing a baby. Your life will become richer and stronger when you give of yourself wholeheartedly to this beautiful yet short season. The day will come when your dreams are realized in a more exciting manner than you could have ever imagined.