Letter to a mother-to-be

Congratulations on the impending arrival of your child. Since I had my last baby 41 years ago, there have been a lot of studies regarding the world of the unborn and how we can influence it. It has been found that an unborn child can hear quite well from about 23 weeks gestation and that what it hears can influence its thoughts and reactions- even after birth!

These days it is not considered silly to talk to your unborn child or to play music or even to read to it! In light of my observations of my grandchildren when they were first born, I think that this is true. How else does one account for the fact that a crying newborn can immediately recognise its own mother's or father's voice and stop crying?

I have experienced this myself with my 13 year old grandson Mitchell. He was born by caesarean section and I was present in the operating theatre (his father didn't make it in time) As his Mother had a general anaesthetic, she was of course unable to hold him or talk to him. He was born screaming and inconsolable! The nurses cleaned him up and cut his cord and then placed him in my arms! I said to him, "Hello Nanna's little boy!" and immediately he opened his eyes and stopped crying! It was awesome and my heart just burst with love for him!

Why did he recognise my voice? you ask. His Mother had had a very problematic pregnancy and I had nursed her through the entire 9 months. With permission, I had laid hands on his Mum's stomach and prayed for him. I had talked to him on a daily basis and encouraged his Mum to as well. She had not bonded with my first grandchild and I tried to encourage her with the beauty of pregnancy and to bond with this child before it was born. It worked- she mothered him well.

Now to the reason of this article. Our children have a spirit before birth as we find in Luke 1:39-45 where the pregnant Mary visited Elizabeth and the sixth month fetus, John the Baptist, leapt in her womb when he heard Mary's salutation! I believe that we can minister to our unborn children by praying for them whilst in utero, playing worship music, reading the Word or having the Word played. As the brain records memories from before birth, I believe that a love for the LORD and His Word and worship can be fostered from pre-natal days.

As a study showed, new mothers were asked if they watched a particular soap opera throughout their pregnancy. Of those that did, they were asked to join in a simple experiment. When their babies went through that fussy part of the day where they play up, their Mothers played the theme song of that soapie. Without fail, all the babies settled!

If worldly things can influence our unborn children, what a wonderful opportunity we have in instilling a love for the things of God in them right from the womb. I believe it starts in the womb...science tells us the unborn do respond to outside stimuli, I have experienced it with Mitchell....what a wonderful start to a new life!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

"Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:4-5

I have gotten a man!

In joyful love and amazement the young Eve’s heart lurched

As she gazed at the infant she’d just brought to birth,

And the depth of her love took her quite by surprise

As she looked at Cain’s face with its big blue eyes.
This gift from the LORD brought her to first know..
Pain mingled with joy which followed to show
A mother's love...

How perfectly shaped his head covered in fine down
What strength in his grip on her finger he clasped round,
How tiny each feature, how perfect, how flawless-

How soft was the skin still wet from the waters

That protected and comforted him just moments ago

When the world still had no babe nor mother to know

A mother’s love…

Joy swept through her previously unknown;

Eve knew it was the same joy God towards her had shown-

Feelings of elation in the life of a new living being

And possibilities of shared love previously unseen;

Deep feelings of protection and for the nurturing of

This delightful new creature and object of

A mother’s love…

This love felt so strange as it burst in Eve’s soul

And she knew that as a woman she truly felt whole,

For she sensed that as a mother she took a part in creation,

And thanking God, full of thankful celebration,

She lifted her son to the Father above,

Amazed by the strength and power of

A mother’s love…

All through the ages this same love formed in Eve’s heart

Has been passed down to her daughters as they too take part

In the greatest of mysteries known to man,

The strong feeling of partnership in God’s plan

Of the birth and the nurture and the survival of

God’s most precious of blessings so needful of

A mother’s love.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

“ I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” Genesis 4:1

A bitter pill swallowed in sadness

First the General Practitioner’s was sold. It had been a house that was revamped for him. We waited eagerly to see if a medical service would take its place…we sorely need dental surgeries and physiotherapy, rehabilitation centres or pain management clinics in our area.

There were months of extensions and electrical works. Concretors made ramps for the front entrance and a car park was enlarged from a small parking area to room for about 20 cars. Over the next few months, we saw medical equipment and treatment couches and trolleys brought in. Our excitement and curiosity mounted.

What was this wonderful service for us? The sign post had long been stripped of its sold sign but no new sign was forthcoming. Finally, the place was finished! But no news in the local paper or no new sign gave us a clue to our new service! During the week the place was not busy at all…sometimes deserted. Very strange. Saturdays were extremely busy with the carpark full. Still there was no word what the building was.

I did a google search of the area….you guessed it. Our taxes are funding an abortion clinic! I am so upset! I know that abortion will always be a sad fact of life- but it is vexing that one should be built so close to our home! A service that will line the pockets of the abortionists, funded by tax payers money and serving only one small facet of the community!It is so very sad and disappointing!

I will always feel a sense of sadness for the little innocents’ lives that are taken and the lives messed up for women who will have to live with their decision for the rest of their lives! As I wait for a place in a pain management clinic, I swallow the bitter pill of anger and disappointment in the spiraling sin of our hedonistic society. And I shed a tear for the little ones sucked viciously from the warmth of their mother’s womb. And I pray “Maranatha, Lord Jesus!”…and shiver as I pass.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

"Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward". Psalm 127:3

Way beyond blue

The first time I came across post-natal depression was when my daughter had just given birth to her first child. She was elated with her baby but about a week later she had crying fits that came for no apparent reason. At first we put them down to baby blues. But then came irrational thoughts and feelings. She believed her husband didn’t love her anymore. Feeling ugly, she was sure her husband was having an affair. She believed her mother-in-law didn’t like her and was trying to overtake her baby. None of which was true.

One night when the baby was about 5 weeks old, we were called to her home by her frantic husband- she had packed all hers and the baby’s clothes in the car and was demanding the car keys. We raced to her home and were met by a daughter we had never seen before. Red-faced, unkempt and crying loudly. Fortunately her husband had the foresight to hide the car keys as she was in no fit state to drive anywhere. She tried to take the baby out of her crib to take her away, but we stood in front of her so she could not get her.

I tried to reason with her but she just kept screaming that she had had enough- her husband didn’t love her or the baby- she was fat and he was certainly seeing someone else. It was heart-breaking to see him in tears too pleading with her to calm down and declaring his love for her.

Eventually she ran out of voice and strength and collapsed in my arms quite spent. I stroked her hair and her husband came and took her in his arms and comforted her. He was able at last to reason with her and she agreed to see a doctor the next day. We took the car keys with us at his request. Satisfied that the immediate danger was over, we returned home. The next day, my daughter and her husband went to see a doctor who diagnosed post-natal depression. For about 2 months my daughter took anti-depressants and became the loving calm girl we had always known. It was frightening to see what hormones can sometimes do to a woman.

We were a little apprehensive when she gave birth to her second child. In fact the post-natal depression manifested itself in panic-attacks the first few hours after she gave birth. I notified the midwives at the hospital about my daughter’s agitation and previous depressions and they sent a doctor up to see her. She was put onto medication immediately and was much more relaxed and happy with motherhood. The medications were only needed for about 2 months. I was so glad that I had noticed the signs sooner this time.

I would say to all new mothers or grandmothers that if a depression goes beyond the blue that most of us experience in the first few days after childbirth, a doctor should be consulted. Hormones play a major part in promoting and maintaining pregnancy and lactation, but can sometimes also cause major depression. This can lead to disastrous results if left unattended. If my daughter ever has another child, I will be alert to any mood swings signaling post-natal depression. It should never be underestimated and should be treated promptly when discovered.

I thank God for medication and a sensible son-in-law. Sometimes we mothers need a little help in getting well when our hormones make our depression soar way beyond blue...

Footnote to this post: my daughter has since had another child, suffering no panic attacks or post-natal depression. This just goes to show how fickle hormones can be and the need to be observant with each pregnancy and confinement. We praise the LORD for answered prayer!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks 

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

A bitter-sweet day!

Today is my granddaughter, Ashleigh's 20th birthday.  It is a day when our family will be celebrating her birth, but for another family it is a day of deep mourning.

My granddaughter's birth was a very complicated one. It was a very protracted labour as first deliveries can often be,  and after 17 hours of intense labour, my daughter requested and was given an epidural. Her partner left the room when she fell asleep, but I as her doula, stayed.  I asked the midwife what the graphs on the fetal monitor were supposed to read. She explained it all to me, boosted the Oxytocyn drip up higher and told me she would be in to check on her in 2 hours.  They were rushed off their feet with every delivery room full.

I had noticed some meconium stain when I was assisting my daughter, and I had privately advised the staff.  The baby was under some stress and to my mind, the stage was set for a possible emergency caesarean.  I was proved right.

With my daughter sleeping on three pillows, exhausted, there was nothing for me to do but watch the fetal monitor. I am sure God had planned for me to be there, for things went horribly wrong with the babys' heartbeat dipping dangerously during a contraction and not picking up after. My daughter would have been alone but as I saw it,  I ran to the nurses' station and told them to come urgently.  Within 10 minutes the child was born. 

If it hadn't been for me staying with my daughter instead of going for a coffee,  I would not have noticed the dipping heart rate until the babe was flat lining.  My daughter would have delivered a still-born daughter as they weren't even going to check on her for 2 hours. I remember seeing no staff around near the nurses' station and every door to each birthing room was closed.  I had to grab a midwife as she came out with some dirty linen.

Ashleigh was touch and go for a while but recovered quickly.  Not so for some poor woman and her baby in the long corridor of delivery rooms.  There was a distinct pall over the maternity floor and to this day I wonder just which room was the final resting place of a young mother and her unborn baby.

As the mother of still-born twins, I know the pain of loss, but I can't fathom the loss that the young father must have felt. Not to mention any other children the couple may have had and the girls' parents who lost not only a child but a grandchild as well.

I am so grateful to God that we have a healthy young woman today, but I have to try not to dwell on the fact that somewhere a family mourns the loss of a mother and child.  Life is full of tragedy... full of bittersweet days that herald a new life and see the passing of another.

Please join me in saying a quick prayer for that mourning family... it's all I can do for them. Oh, and happy birthday, Ashleigh!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted; Ecclesaistes 3:1-2

What God thinks of children: a study

How many times have we heard disbelief and dismay of relatives and friends when it is discovered that a new life is on the way? And worse still, how many people have (hopefully only for a moment), thought  or worse still,  actually voiced  that they may very well terminate it?  It’s a fact that quite a large  percentage of  babies weren’t actually planned, but that  is only in  our thinking.  There are no accidents or unwanted children in God’s sight. Do you know that God blesses us with conception and withholds conception as a punishment?

Genesis 49:25 [Even] by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:  That is not to say that women trying to conceive are being punished, of course. But in scripture, God encourages us to be fruitful vines and says we will be saved in childbearing.

Exodus 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Leviticus 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you Psalm 128:3 Thy wife [shall be] as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. 1Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 

And again when the house of Abimelech had Sarah, Abraham’s wife in his harem posing as Abraham’s sister, God closed all the wombs in the palace. That was how Abimelech knew something was amiss in his house! Why? Because the blessing of conception was withheld!

Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou [art but] a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she [is] a man's wife. Genesis 20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Genesis 20:8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. Genesis 20:9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. Genesis 20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? Genesis 20:14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave [them] unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. Genesis 20:15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land [is] before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. Genesis 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare [children]. Genesis 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

God has formed us in the secret place and knits our bodies together.

Isaiah 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, [which] will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; He saw our form before we had one- He knows us before we are born! Genesis 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one] people shall be stronger than [the other] people; and the elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, [there were] twins in her womb. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

We are all unique- even identical twins are not identical in every sense. I know that with a certainty, for I am a mirror image twin. Yet we are different. Each person conceived is special in the LORD’S sight! How it must grieve Him when we express shock and dismay at His wonderful gift of conception! The godly woman will understand that she is being blessed when she discovers a new life is coming- she will welcome children as a gift from the LORD.

Psalms 127:3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward. And again we see a blessing! Genesis 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah [was] hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel [was] barren.

But the ungodly often will react quite differently, spurning the blessing and often taking means to reject it! My heart grieves for those blessings disposed of heartlessly when many a woman desperate for a child would be more than willing to bring it up. God has a purpose and plan for our lives- even known before we are born. To reject the great gift of conception is to reject one of the greatest gifts and blessings that God can bestow on us. For although a child may not fit in with our plans, God can undertake to provide both materially and emotionally for that child. There are absolutely no accidents, no mistakes in timing, no inconveniences in God’s plan!

I have seen women who vowed to reject the gift of conception by terminating it, bond so intensely with the child when it is in their arms, that they give praise to God for the “inconvenience” and bless Him for their child. I also have known countless couples reject their gift of conception by submitting to sterilisation- only to regret it at a later date. Often a reversal does not repair that which was “fixed” when it was not broken.

They pay a high price often, for trying to play a role of life-giver or rejecter- a role that is God’s alone! How precious indeed is the gift of a child, and indeed the gift of conception. May we never take this gift lightly, or reject it or be dismayed! God’s plans and thoughts are so much higher than ours!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

How our rejection of Gods' greatest gift to us after salvation, must hurt Him! For God, there are no unwanted children. If only all people would understand that!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.Luke 18:16

About this blog

Once if you were to sit with me sharing a cuppa, it wouldn’t take long before we spoke about housework being repetitious and boring….which, let’s face it: it is!  We would probably touch on the fact that we are stuck at home whilst our husbands get to be out in the world away from the monotony. Before too long, we would be having a real pity party bemoaning our lot as wives, mothers and homemakers. Once.

I say “once” because the LORD has led me through the path of Homemaker’s Discontent and has graciously deposited me in Contentment Valley. He has shown me that He has given all homemakers the choice part in life. How I regret that I didn’t realise this years ago, but later is better than never and I am grateful for the realisation that God is with me and is interested in my daily activities.

There is no secret to my realisation: it is simply having a heart change. An attitude that says that we will accept that God’s Word is true and that we will submit to Him and live our life accordingly.

To live our life as God has ordained for the Christian wife and mother, we must know what our priorities in life are. Our priorities as wives and mothers following Christ are:

• God


• Husband


• Children


• Home


• Church

When you put God’s priorities in order, He is being served first, second, third, fourth and fifth. If you are a wife and mother, then you have your calling: you don’t have to go around looking for other callings. You have been called to serve God and to birth and raise Warriors for Him.

“Morning Cuppas With Glenys” is the name I have chosen for this blog because I love to encourage Christian women in their most precious calling. As my usual habit is to have a morning cuppa and spend time in the Word and prayer, I thought that title would be fitting...

I will be sharing my heart as an older Sister in Christ and in the spirit of Titus 2 and Proverbs 31. Generally my posts will be in the five categories of service: God, Husband, Children, Home and Church.

A lot of conservative Christian sites paint an unrealistic picture of life- they never seem to have any failures and never admit to any if they do. This is misleading to the Body of Christ. I try to be honest in my blog and believe personal transparency is crucial to helping and encouraging each other.

It is my prayer that you will catch the beauty and freedom we have in Christ by accepting our marriage, children and home as our first and most precious calling and ministry.

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-17Please note that all posts regarding members of my family or my friends are posted with their permission.