"That's gonna leave a Mark"

I received my MomSense magazine from MOPS the other day and I found this article very inspiring.  The first time I flipped through and saw it I passed over it, but when I sat down to go through my magazine again I stopped to read it.  It talks about stretch marks of all things...lol.  How many of us would rather just forget that we have them..lol.  But it took a different twist.  The lady writing the article says how she grew up with lilly white skin and moisturizing was a daily ritual for her.  When she got pregnant and in her final trimester she says that "her skin began to rebel against her"...lol.  I thought this was funny..lol.

Anyway, she ended up having this condition called PUPPPS (pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy).  I had to read and re-read this name to see if I could actually pronounce it.  She goes on to explain the condition...that her skin developed "nasty pink welts".  Anyway, the scars left behind she refers to as her "war wounds".  

"The scars represent the growth and sacrifice of motherhood, the wisdom I've earned in the process of parenting.  They're physical reminders of the many ways I've grown since I gave birth."

"Burned into my memory are the emotional scars of every frightening and infuriating moment in my child's life:  when the neighbor rushed in with my bleeding offspring, when the vomiting wouldn't stop, when the tantrum raged for more than an hour.  Each time I'm stretched, I (normally) rise to the challenge.  I gain confidence as a mom, marvel at my stamina, humbly accept help from others or learn to call on God when I reach my wits' end in despair. "

"I may never wear another bikini, but I still smile when I look down at my stretch marks and consider how each one formed as my body grew to encase the miracle inside.  And I reflect on how the scars Jesus bears on his body are the physical proof of His immeasurable love for His children.  As I love my children, I experience a small portion of his great love for me."

I think about my stretch marks every time I see myself in the mirror.  I do everything I can to cover them up.  I was like this woman.  I didn't get them till my last trimester.  I lotioned, creamed, lathered, and hoped against them...lol.  I couldn't believe that I would be one of those women who would bear scars of childbirth..lol.  But, as I continued reading this article I began to see my scars in a different light.  How wonderful they are.  Seem strange?  Maybe to most it is strange, but when Cade asks me about the marks on my tummy I can explain how much I love him and how mommy carried him and how with each child mommy carries I will continue to carry the scars that go along with them.  I would never have my child if I didn't have my scars.  And to know that the scars that Jesus bears are physical proof that He loves me...oh, wow, I just couldn't bear to know the separation from Christ if He didn't carry those scars.  Oh, How He Loves Us!!!!

MomSense   March / April 2009   Nancy Mendez, author