Sweet newborn baby Levi joined our world last month! His proud and loving parents are Reuben and Mariah. They are doing a fantastic job adjusting to life with their first child. Mariah and I had a special time during her preview session chatting about adjusting to life with the first child as a police wife. Friends, the police wife lifestyle isn’t for the faint of heart. Many times spouses have to go back to work too soon after baby arrives leaving mom with a lot of responsibility while she’s still recovering from childbirth.

After we had our first, my husband had to go back to work (to the academy) the day after he brought us home from the hospital. Our first night home my body went into shock from the sudden hormone fluctuation. Since my husband had to be up early for the academy the next morning I didn’t feel like I could ask him for help with Noah. The academy is hard and I wanted him to get one night of good rest before heading back. Though I am so grateful that Noah is here and healthy, that night still stands out as one of the hardest nights of my life, both physically and emotionally.

It brought me a lot of joy to be able to encourage Mariah through similar highs and lows we experience as police wives adjusting to life with a newborn. I teared up a few times talking with her because I remember how hard and how good that season of life was for me. It was very encouraging to me to know that I wasn’t the only one feeling the way that I did after our newborn almost four years ago.

Mariah, I hope you know that I see so much strength in you as a mom and police wife. Mariah, and all moms who may need to hear these words… on days when you may not feel strong, when your baby may cry for too long for a reason you can’t pin point, when you may feel like you aren’t good enough for this role… you are because you’re showing up. Day in and day out, all hours of the day you’re feeding, changing, kissing, and singing love into that sweet little baby. You’re shaping a heart and a life that this world needs. This hard season will pass and you will emerge a stronger person on the other side. Even though your baby won’t remember the times you held him while he screamed for hours inconsolable, you will. You’ll remember how it took you to the end of yourself and straight into God’s arms for strength and comfort. I’m so grateful for those trying days because when I came to the end of myself as a mother I found God’s Father heart for me in a way I never knew before.