Hey lady,
here we go again. You’re 37 weeks and
feeling like this pregnancy has gone fast, but in slow motion. I know you reached this point in your
other two pregnancies and struggled with fear and worry, so I thought I’d ward
that off with a few reminders.
1. Trust your
body.
The first
time around, you weren’t so sure if you could really trust your body. You wondered how your labor story would play
out and if your body would betray you. You
let others dictate how you should labor and push out your baby. Though you had an unmedicated birth like you
hoped, it was long, harder than you expected and you had some regrets. The second time around, you were better
prepared and trusted that the pain was purposeful. You knew that slow is not bad, it is just the
way God programmed you. So the next
time, you surrendered to your body and allowed it to guide you. You sang, swayed, slept, soaked in the tub
and relaxed. You did what it took to
allow your mind to get in tune with your body.
And after two days of laboring at home, you delivered a healthy baby
girl 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital.
I know you can do this again—trust your body. It knows what it’s doing.
2. Trust (and
enjoy) your baby.
This little
pink wriggly that they’ll place on your chest is more intuitive than you will
ever know. He already knows you, loves
you and respects you. Listen to him and
find ways to be in tune with him—even when your gut goes against “the books.” God has made YOU his mama—no one else. He has gifted you with the ability to meet
his needs in ways that no one else on earth right now can.
Instead of “getting through” those first few
weeks and months with your new one, focus on enjoying him. Cuddle him longer than you “should,” tickle
your nose with his baby fuzz hair, breathe in his newborn scent, strap him to
your body to feel his warmth, nurse him in the middle of the night while you
catch up on T.V. shows (without guilt) and cup his frog legs in your hands as
his body still wants to be in a ball. Blink,
and he will be running circles in the living room with your other two, so enjoy
these precious, fleeting days of infancy while they last.
3. You will be
given what you need.
Now that you
have other children, you wonder how you will have space in the inner rooms of
your heart for more. Will there be
enough love, patience, wisdom, strength and time to stretch around and envelop
this new one? Will you feel the same
toward him that you do toward your other lovelies? This is where Jesus will step in, making His
miracles. Like the widow who hesitated
to give up the last of her oil and flour when the prophet Elijah asked for it,
you, too, wonder if you will be required to give more than you have. But you will be shocked to find that “the
bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty” (1
Kgs. 17:14).
You will be given what you
need exactly when you need it, so give freely.
Err on the side of generosity. This time of adding a needy soul to an
already chaotic and overflowing life will extend you beyond your ability so
that you will see your needs and your new one’s needs met in miraculous ways. Your lack will lead to a demonstration of God’s
provision. Your scarcity is an
opportunity for Jesus to lavish His excessive love on you. Wait and see. God will make a feast out of your simple offering of flour and oil.
4. This baby
does not belong to you.
He has never
belonged to you and never really will.
He has been knit, formed, made and molded in your body—but not by
you. The Holy Spirit has been at work
for a long time on this little one—you have always carried a part of him inside
of your body, just waiting for this egg to be picked for such a
time as this. God knew his name before
he even existed and has always known the number of days he ordained for this little
one. Open your clenched hands and place
him back on the altar. This baby is not
yours. The sooner you accept that, the
better you all will be.
5. Do not fear.
Before you
conceived, you feared it wouldn’t happen.
You were afraid that pink line on your dollar store pregnancy test would
never have a partner. But then throughout
this entire pregnancy, you have feared that you would lose the baby. Now, you fear complications in these final
weeks, in labor or that your baby will be born with birth defects that will
alter his life and yours. Fear has
stubbornly clutched your skirt hem all along this road. But here are some words of life that you
wrote out for yourself on note cards the first time around. Let these words empower you as you prepare to
give birth. Submerse yourself in them
like the muscle-soothing soak of the weary who takes a bath after training for
a marathon.
Soak in these Truths:
“The Lord is
my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped; Therefore my
heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him”
(Ps. 28:7).
“For God has
not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and
self-discipline”
(2 Tim. 1:7).
“When I am
afraid, I will put my trust in you. In
God, whose word I praise, in God have I put my trust; I shall not be
afraid. What can mere man do to me?”
(Ps. 56:3-4).
“For God is
not a God of confusion, but of peace”
(1 Cor. 14:33).
“I can do
all things through Him who strengthens me”
(Phil. 4:13).
“You will
keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in
you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the
Lord, the Lord is the rock eternal”
(Is. 26:3-4).
“Do not
fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be
with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire you will not
be scorched, nor will the flame burn you”
(Is. 43:1-2).
“Be strong
and courageous! Do not trouble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with
you wherever you go”
(Joshua 1:9).
“Be strong,
and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the Lord”
(Ps. 31:24).
“The Lord is
my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?”
(Ps. 27: 1).
“Peace, I
leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to
you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor
let it be fearful”
(Jn. 14:27).
***
Labels: motherhood, pregnancy, sacred moments, Spiritual Lessons