It's the most courageous Career Choice you've ever made, far tougher and ultimately more rewarding than that full or part-time job you may be holding down.
Raising Human Beings always has been tough. Demanding self-sacrifice, beginning with your body being taken over for nine months by an Unknown Entity. St. Paul says it well - we're called to love when it's convenient and when its inconvenient. "Love never fails." (1 Cor. 13:8).
Those nine months of pregnancy are never "convenient." In fact, there's never a "convenient" time to have a baby.
I wish other young women recognized this - that there's never a convenient time. Our culture always looks for "What I Want, When the Time is Right for Me." You are an example to those who think life can come perfectly planned and always sanitary. (Think of a diaper pail!)
There's never a "convenient" time to care for a sick child, when your Boss is on the phone. Or to help with homework when you have to study for YOUR exam. When you have the worst headache, these Unknown Entities choose to torture you. When you're mindlessly yelling (I yelled, pleaded, threw kids into their bedrooms to "think" and simultaneously give myself a break A LOT over the years) it's hard to remember that "Love never fails."
But rewarding? Nothing else comes close - except for the love of a wonderful spouse or best friend. The singular wonder of creating another is irreplaceable. The singular joy of their love for you is heart-warming, amazing, soul-wrenching because of the depth at which their love affects you.
And they do love you. You are their Rock. Even when they're complaining, seeing how far they can push you, telling you that you don't understand. Stand firm. Remember your mission is to raise them to be mature, self-sacrificing adults, not slaves to instant gratification. The more you hold to your principles, the more they know, deep down, that you are For Real.
It never gets easier. Ever. Even after they've grown and flown the nest. You'll always worry. Always wonder what they're doing. Always smile at the sound of their voices on the phone.
But the love between you and your children gets deeper. More understanding. More mature. More a gift. Because Love, real Love, never fails. It just gets better!
That's why you can laugh without fear of the future. Perfect Love casts out Fear.