My Search for Motherhood

I am a very religious person and believe in the leaders of my church. We believe in a prophet who can still receive revelation for the world today. I have been noticing lately that the issue of infertility has been coming up more and more. I don't know if I am just more aware when they speak of IF or if it is just becoming a more relevant issue. I wrote a post last October and December about our church leaders talking about IF.
I recently got our monthly church publication and found yet another article about IF titled My Search for Motherhood. It is a sweet story about a woman who struggled her entire life with never having children of her own but searched for opportunities to have what she calls "alternate opportunities for motherhood". I don't think that I ever got to that point in my personal journey, but I started to realize that the Lord has put children in my life so that I may try to develop motherly attributes.
For example, since being married I have spent a few years serving children in church. I was a teacher for the 3-4 year old children for a couple of years. During that time, I learned the innocence of children and their unconditional love for others. I also learned that they are so much smarter than I had originally given them credit for. I saw the children grow because of the influence of their parents. I loved teaching the young kids stories from the scriptures only to find out they already know those stories.
I have also had the opportunity to serve the youth of the church in many capacities. I was a leader over 12-13 year old girls as well as 14-15 year old girls. Their strength, faith, and testimonies are so strong even though the world can be so hard. They have such bright futures ahead of them and it was exciting to see them grow and accomplish their goals and dreams.
I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to be surrounded by children even though I haven't had any of my own. I know that my Father in Heaven loves me enough to put me in those positions to soften my heart and help me grow as a woman. Now that I am about to have one of my own (less than 3 weeks left!) I still feel completely unprepared to be a mother, but I know that with the help of the Lord I can do all things.

Sufficient Grace

I just came across this blog post and thought it was beautifully written. She is a lot more eloquent than I am when it comes to writing but her story is all too familiar.