Hello sweet girl,

I’m sitting here with a baby sleeping on my chest. His tiny body rests perfectly into mine. He likes to snuggle in close with his hands curled up under his chin with my shirt tightly clutched in his fists. He still gets up a couple of times to eat in the middle of the night and and calls out, “Mama!” into the darkness until I come and scoop him up into my arms. He is the light of my life. He is my son.

Your husband.

When you read this, you will just have said, “I do” and have driven off into the sunset with my boy, now your man. Your life together is just beginning. But I have been waiting, praying, for you for so long.

You have been loved for so many years.

Some people don’t believe in soul mates; I’m not really sure that I do, either. But I do believe matches made in Heaven – matches made by the Heavenly Father. When God created you and my son, he did so with a unique purpose, both for you individually and together. He designed you with specific traits and quirks, strengths and passions. And when He created both of you, He knew that you would be able to do more for His glory together than you would apart. You were destined for His glory together.

You and this baby who I’m rocking in my arms.

As we are praying for our son to become a strong man of God, we are also praying that you will become a woman hidden in Him. While we don’t know what your story is yet, we are trusting that God is going to reveal Himself to you in His perfect timing, in the way that only He can. The story of how you came to know Him will be one that defines you and shapes you into the woman that God has called you to be. Your story has power and purpose, and when our son enters it, we will be eager to watch it unfold. We are praying for the purity of your heart, mind, and body and that God would protect you as you walk with Him.

I’m praying that for you right now, as I rock your husband in my arms.

My precious daughter-in-law, you will be a wonderful wife to my boy! While your beauty will captivate his eyes, your heart will steal his soul. As we pray that he will love and lead you, we also pray that you will respect and be devoted to him, being clothed in strength and dignity, seeking Jesus in every part of your life. And one day, Lord willing, you and this sleeping baby on my chest will become parents yourselves. I can’t wait to see the kind of parents you will be (and how I will spoil your kids!).

I can’t wait to watch my baby have babies, this baby boy sleeping on my chest.

And my dear, there will be days that you don’t like my son very much. There will be times that you disagree; times that you want to say something mean, and days that you think that marriage is just too hard. But when those days come, and they will, I want you to remember these eight marriage-saving words:

I love you.

I’m sorry.

I forgive you.

Hold these words close to you, say them often and accept them freely. Bind them to your heart and never stop trusting in the plan that God has for you and my son.

This baby boy sleeping on my chest, I will be his first love. But you are going to be his last. Take care of his heart. Cherish the gift that he is and love him like only you can. The two of you are going to do amazing things for His glory together. I can’t wait to watch it happen. But for now I will keep rocking my baby boy in the night, singing him his favorite lullaby, and praying for another baby girl somewhere being rocked by another mama. Praying for you, always.

Love, your Mother-In-Law

Want to read more from the author of this post, Lauren Eberspacher? Check out her book, Midnight Lullabies. Don’t have time to sit and read? You can listen here, on Audible.

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