Today marks two years since I gave birth to a little woman who will change the world. She certainly has changed me. Here are a few ways:

First, carrying, bearing, and nursing her helped me to appreciate the natural strength of women. Our bodies change radically, and we endure incredible pain—hoping that we can serve alongside God in his work of creating and sustaining.

Second, and this is related, the difficulty of these processes/activities, which are put forward as “the most natural things a woman can do,” has helped me to think through how natural pain and difficulty are in other areas of life for women. (Side note: Nursing is SO hard.)

We are constantly scrutinized for our supposed weakness, but women are strong.

(Third,) I personally have also seen God’s graciousness in strengthening me for the work of mothering. On top of not knowing if I *could* have a baby, a question for me was always whether I *should* due to several long-term health concerns. (I spent much of 2016 on the couch.)

So I wondered how I could possibly do more and care well for a child. I knew (and I wasn’t wrong) that my husband would bear a disproportionate amount of burden. But during my pregnancy and throughout the year that I was nursing, I was rarely “fatigued.” (I was exhausted though!)

I’m back to being fatigued, but I still have energy to do WAY more than I had in the ~decade prior. Thanks be to God!

Oh, and here’s a picture of me eating an omelet today. @curtiswaynejr had the wonderful idea of having omelets each year because we had them while I was in labor. Love it!