Fruitfulness

It seems like it's been ages since I wrote a life update. In reality, it's only been a month, and really not a super full month at that. We have had some events: my Goddaughter's first Communion, new (and last!) semester beginning, just today our parish had their last day of school, and this weekend we will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary! While topics have come and gone in my head about what to write on here, one has been sticking:

Fruitfulness in marriage when there are no children (yet).

All in all, I love Mother's Day. It's a good chance to dote on my loving, sweet mom, and this year was my first having a mother-in-law to send love to as well. They have both formed my husband and I into the people we are today, and I'm so grateful. Mother's Day also had an added depth this year being a new wife. Facebook this year was filled with all types of provoking articles, about motherhood itself, about mourning motherhood lost, even about the spiritual motherhood of religious sisters.

While it did not necessarily sadden me, it did leave me feeling a little out of the loop in a new way I had never felt before, and I know it was the added dimension of marriage. Truth be told, I felt some amount of "Catholic guilt." Through no person's or group's fault, there is still this expectancy for motherhood to accompany marriage, and that has not found it's way into my life yet. There is the hope that it will, but in the mean time, where is the fruit of our marriage? Married women with children get to celebrate this day, religious sisters get to celebrate, what about married women without children? Am I broken, or not contributing, in some way?

It has given me a good chance in prayer to ponder the past year of our marriage and the fruit, both spiritual and physical, that has come of it. We have given our time, talent, and treasure to the Church...fruitfulness. We have found new ways to express our love within our marriage, a new reminder of our ultimate destiny for beatitude with God...fruitfulness. We have tangibly experienced sacrifice in our daily lives, positively influenced others through our example, and witnessed to the power of Christian marriage...fruitfulness.

And so, yes, Mother's Day held new meaning for me this year. It was a reminder to pray for all the lovely women in my life raising beautiful children with their spouses. It was a reminder to pray for everyone trying to become a mother and those who have children in heaven. It was a reminder to pray for my sweet friends in formation who are spiritual mothers themselves. It was a reminder that my own marriage has been fruitful in real ways, and I am no less a "mother" in those aspects.