Last year I wrote about my reflections on pregnancy and Mary during this time of year.  You can read part 1 below.  This year I can’t help but reflect a lot on the birth, because that is where I am.  Last year many things in my life were in a preparation stage.  A waiting stage.  While, I would never try to say that God ever stops working on us and preparing us for the next thing, I think there is much to be said for when the birth starts.

Having had two children of my own, I am quite familiar with the process of birth and how each stage in the process prepares you for the next.  As we all know, birth is very different from the pregnancy.  42 weeks of just anticipation gets long, slow and hopefully is not very action-packed (as this would indicate a problem).  The anticipation is joyful, and usually exciting but prenatal excitement cannot even compare to the excitement and momentum of the birth.

When a first-time mama inquires of other mamas asking, “How will I know when it is time?”, the other mamas usually reply with something like, “Oh, you’ll know!”  While a first-time mama may falsely diagnose certain symptoms as being signs of early labor, I would guess that most veterans would not, as there is little mistaking the real deal (provided there was no inducing their first time around).  It is true.  There is no way to describe it accurately to someone.  The pain, the energy, the vibe, the intensity– there are no words for it so trying to sum up that experience and instinct into words will only mislead someone or cause them to misinterpret their own experience.

Our church is in labor now.  I personally, in my ministry, am in labor now.  While I know that just like in physical birth, there are still stages and preparations for what is coming, I feel the momentum.  I feel the pain, the energy, the vibe, the intensity.  As it was when my boys were born, it is scary.  In my soul I know I was created to do this, I know I can handle it, but anticipating the intensity of the next stage is daunting.  Sometimes it makes me doubt– not in God but in myself.  Sometimes it makes me cringe and double over in pain because it takes every ounce of faith and stamina that I have to withstand it.  Sometimes it rejuvenates me!  It empowers my dreams and with every little sign of progress I know the reward is getting closer!

I think all mothers understand, better than anyone, why God uses birth as a metaphor for so many parts of our journey.  It is quite clear to me why He had Jesus be born from a woman rather than just appear on the scene as a man.  There is no more primal, desperate, beautiful and rewarding struggle than that of a mama giving birth.  Since the Bible isn’t very graphic or descriptive of the birth of Jesus, I think that it becomes the responsibility of the mamas to tell that part of Mary’s story, to use our own descriptions of the birth experience to convey what it must have been like.

The lesson to be learned from the birthing process is to trust it.  Pain is not a negative thing in birth.  Pain is the push.  Without the pain, your muscles in a normal state do not have the strength to follow through and push the baby out.  The pain, the contraction, is what pushes your body over that line to find the superhuman strength it needs to do what it has to do.

When God is doing something great, there will be pain.  The challenge is to trust Him, to trust the process.  I won’t get on this soapbox now, and I don’t mean to offend anyone but studies show that intervention and measures of convenience in labor lead to more problems than not.  There is no easy way if you want the satisfaction of knowing that you did it.  And, sometimes the easy way ends up being the most time consuming and dangerous way.  There is really nothing like that feeling when you push through and accomplish something through God-given strength that you truly labored over.

Here is a part of my birthing journal that I recorded right after my first son Lex was born.

I was fully aware and fully present at Lex’s birth.  It was a beautiful experience, learning about how life comes into the world, “always pain before a child is born” (U2), the rebirth of my own self.  I learned so much about myself and my strength.  I have “failed” at many other things in my life.  The fight to bring Lex into the world meant everything to me.  I genuinely wanted to do it no matter what the pain, no matter what it cost me– and I did it!  I know now that when I really want something badly enough, I can do it!

Jesus, thank you for being born.  Thank you that nothing comes easy with you, because that gives everything in Your Kingdom priceless value.  Help us to remember, as we journey along this path, that You have taught us that it will be well-worth the struggle.