July 10

Labour of love

I was afraid of the pain.
But I knew I would gain
a reward,
if I managed to do it.
I had to get through it.
Your eyes filled with tears
and I thought of the years
we had tried.

I drew strength from
your nearness.
But even you were not
fearless.
I could feel your hands shaking
while my body was making
its ultimate effort.

And then… she was there!
No longer a pair,
but a family of three.
I was afraid of the pain,
but your love sustained
my courage.

“My patience, resolutions and beliefs are tested to the limits – sometimes daily.”^*

Right at this moment one of my challenges is the constant, tuneless whistling from my elder son. When my boys were babies it was getting them to sleep or trying to figure out why they were crying. On any given day now, it might be squabbling, fighting, teasing, screaming, shouting or rudeness. Who’d be a parent? We might well question ourselves after the event, but we can’t very well put them back! Just how we find those inner resources, how we constantly demand more of ourselves, how we keep marching up that hill with a smile on our face and gladness in our heart at the sight of our ‘babies’ is one of life’s mysteries.

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