This morning, I woke with an uneasiness, I do not know what is going on, but it was my son.
This happens when I know I have to pray, and that is just what I did. Knowing that if the father has woken me up early, then something I do not know about is happening.
When I was pregnant with my son, it was emotion filled, his father told his mates that he wanted to have him aborted, and that I wouldn’t have it. His twisted lies caused me a lot of stress, because I thought, what have I got myself into here.
When I was pregnant, there were scary medical issues that came about at 3 1/2 months I started to have contractions. I went to emergency, and my doctor came in to see me and said, “don’t expect to wake up with a baby tomorrow”.
All I thought was, my mother’s warning, it’s really hard to carry a boy in the family. So, I knew I was not living a godly life, but I also knew my baby had to be born. I prayed, I wasn’t sure how, but I prayed and thought about the father’s hand, holding him in there, keeping him safe. And when my doctor came in the next morning, he was shaking his head, he expected a call to come and do a curet.
He was shocked that I had not miscarried during the night, I told him I had prayed (I lived in a small country town). His comment was, well it worked, because your still in one piece. Then I was sick all the way till the end, not knowing my gallbladder was upset.
When he was born and that was another episode of OMG, they cut the cord and he didn’t breathe, I was told it was 7 1/2 minutes. They were about to call it, because there is a time frame with babies, he was skinny, because from 7 months I had trouble eating and keeping food down.
Home life was so stressful, his father threatened to throw him at the wall at one point. And the comments, can’t you shut your bastard of a kid up, he was an undisciplined child and grew into a selfish man.
My doctor knew the stress I was under, he asked how the a…hole was going, he was known, let’s put it that way.
At the time with all the outside stress, I did not know I was having post-natal depression. All I knew was, I was in a battle with myself, something I didn’t know about, all I had to do was keep the baby alive and bring him up as best as I could.
At 17 my son was so expressive, he’d hug me, his mates told him, I was cool. When he moved out of home as he wanted to get to know his father, he would call and I was concerned he wasn’t making steadfast friends, so I asked him. He told me I was his best friend, that made my heart feel so good and warm at the time.
But, in his last year at school I saw changes, changes that I knew, someone was influencing him, away from me, it was done little by little. He was still a really open minded beautiful young man, he is extremely clever, but something was off.
Today, we haven’t spoken in years, last time I saw him, he was so abrupt, his attitude was a country mindset, so limited so angry. I didn’t see the young man who loved his mum, I saw a stranger.
Times where I had called him, I was informed I was doing it wrong. I got to the point where I thought, well he can ring me, and because my mobile was a work phone, I was given strict instructions on personal calls. Yes, I had a better job from the outside, but the money was the same as my local job, and it cost me more to get too.
There is a lot about my son, that I see the younger version of me, self-righteous, short etc. But something I would never do to my mum is, be disrespectful, not honorable and speak down to her.
I have apologized for what I may or may not have done as a mum, because I believe we don’t know everything at the time, but we learn and grow, if we allow ourselves too.
One of my siblings, use to shake her child and blame them for all their inconveniences.
Trust me when I say, we are not all perfect parents, my job was to keep them alive, steer them in the right direction, teach them values, manners and respect. And then as an adult, choices to do with their life is their responsibility.
My son is 6ft 8, my mum was 4ft 10, I think of what she would say now, I am sure he would have copped a lecture to end time. Mum was a determined woman, she would make sure, you knew what she was thinking. And she would say it once, and you better be paying attention.
She would not allow what a sibling has done, to continue, trust me as she got older, she got shorter in tolerance. Once she had decided the lies, manipulation of a certain child had hit her hard, she was done. Her emotional motherly attachment was done, she wanted nothing to do with them and tolerated their existence.
So back my son, when I got him christened, something exceptional happened, his father had no desire to do anything positive. But I knew he needed to be circumcised, christened, and mum was all for it. But Father Ray was the person who was the Pastor of the church at the time, I had not gone to church still, but I was driven to get him christened.
My son was dressed in a gown my mother bought when I was christened, she had borrowed one for the other older ones but had the money when I was born to own her own. Most of her grandchildren were christened in it. Well, underneath was a silk petticoat that was super slippery, I warned Father Ray, and he got the message, other babies were being christened at the same time, but something happened.
He leaned towards me and said, “only two times before I have felt to announce a baby to the congregation and I feel he is one”. I instantly agreed, why, there are times when you just know. So, he grabbed hold of James and held him high, he was sitting in his hand, and he walked my son down past the crowd. In that instance in my heart and in my mind, I said, “there you go Lord, he’s yours”.
I believe there will come a time very soon when, his real father will step in.
Why, once when my son came down to visit, I always felt to put my hand on his car and protect him with a myriad of angles. I have spoken about this testimony before, how he could not understand why a car coming straight for him, had missed him. Deep down, he knows that a miracle took place, he hasn’t accepted it, but he knows.
He has made choices, he has chosen a road on a wide path, but when you just don’t fit into this world, it’s because your made for his real father’s world, to complete his mandate. And he will either accept it, or not and that is something, as a worldly parent you would struggle with, but when you trust the father, all that you can let go of. Because it’s their choice, there responsibility, all you can do, is the example, show the way and keep your own eyes, on your finish line.