I went to visit a young mother, to hold her baby and to listen. As her newborn snuggled under my chin, eyelashes fluttering shut, I drank in the sweet innocence.

That mother does not get enough sleep. Some days she doesn't eat enough, in fact there are foods she can't eat at all anymore. Her favorite clothes do not fit, and her social life is out the window. She doesn't have enough time and her house is messier than she would prefer. The pregnancy took a toll as well, with weeks of nausea, and months of not being able to reach her own toes. Yet she made these sacrifices, knowingly, willingly, in the hope that her child will grow up to do things that are even more astonishing than falling asleep on her shoulder. 

There are no promises, that your child will be healthy, or happy, or kind. You cannot know for sure that they will do well in school, or land a great job. Or marry. Some sons and daughters grow up, walk out the door and never quite come back for Thanksgiving dinner. 

Yet the Lord is at the very heart of those sacrifices, flowing in with His tender mercies.