Saturday, August 23, 2014

God is in Every Birth

If there is one thing I see in every birth story I read, it is that God is in it. From my best to my worst, the one common thread is seeing God's hand moving in me. I shared awhile ago that this birth was much harder than I expected. But what I have learned most from this is that God was still there. Emotionally speaking, He was the only one there with me. The nurse He gave me that day was wonderful and really helped me as I struggled through intense pain like I have never experienced before. She was God's voice to me, telling me that I was doing well and encouraging me to persevere.

God was there! 

I think back to my other births and I see the weaving of God's story in the middle of all of them. Without God, I would not even have birth stories to share. He is the Creator of all life and nothing has breath apart from Him. God is in every birth.


Monday, August 11, 2014

Mind, Body and Spirit

Since the birth of my 5th child, my life has been a little chaotic and I have struggled to write on this blog that I have desired to have for quite sometime. Even know I struggle to write, but this is a ministry that God has given me and I need to move forward, even if it is slowly. So today, I'm going to share what I have been learning so much recently, especially with this last birth.

Our mind, body and spirit are all connected.

This may not sound like an earth shattering revelation, but it plays a huge part in giving birth. Whether you desire to have a completely natural birth or one that is medicated in every way but a c-section, if there is trouble in one of these areas, it makes giving birth that much harder. A lot of things have come to light since giving birth to Samuel, and I realized how much I was struggling mentally and emotionally during his birth. Because my heart and mind were troubled, it was that much harder to give birth. I cried out to God for help and strength to persevere, which He readily gave, but it was still a challenge because things were not right. My heart and mind were strained because of a strained relationship, and without reconciliation, it was almost unbearable to give birth. I know I have spoken of some of these things before, but I want to reiterate them again to you because I never knew how much sin has effected giving birth.

It is part of the curse. "To the woman He said, 'I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.'" Genesis 3:16a. Sin does this! And when there is sin among God's people it is multiplied.

This does not mean if there is no sin among you you will have a pain free birth. It also doesn't mean that if there is sin your birth will be terrible. It's just clear from Scripture that sin has brought about pain in giving birth, and in my current experience, sin greatly multiplied my pain in childbirth and almost made it impossible.

My challenge to you: Always seek God, seek to weed out sin and seek to reconcile, because our mind, body and spirit are connected. It will not make your birth perfect, but it will help you to overcome no matter what happens during it.