Labour
She stood in the window high above me, smiling and seemingly calm. She was flanked on either side by another daughter and a friend.
We called up with excitement "How's she doing? Any baby yet?"
"Not yet" was the answer, but she's working on it, labouring....
We sent our love and prayers and walked away, my daughter and I, our hearts full. Mine was full with the vicarious range of emotions that the pains of childbirth bring...joy, expectation, trepidation, compassion, exhaustion and wonder. My little girl was just gloriously excited that a baby was being born.
I wonder what goes on in heaven at these times, birth moments, a new life, tiny body, fresh, untainted spirit, potential, hope.
Does the heavenly host revel this much when a soul is born into the kingdom, or even more?
Being born a first time, and then a second, eternity set before us, perilous, wondrous, overwhelming. The beginning of a journey is most often filled with hope.
Sometimes labour is hard and drawn out. It seems that the new life pressing to come forth is hindered. Cervix is widening, painfully, slowly. Not unlike a soul's birth or character being formed, the heart's opening can be too narrow or unwilling to allow the newness of hope to come forth. The soul too comfortable in the warmth of the familiar is unwilling to reach into the bright unknown.
Yet God's persistent hand reaches in and grasps hold of this hesitant one and gradually, firmly draws a squalling, frightened child into a new place. And really, once we clean off the gunk of the journey and press in close to the Father's heart, it's not so bad.
Bright and kind of loud, but a place of discovering, moving, feeding, being sustained by a new source of life.
And love as never known before. Being held, caressed, fed, sung to, protected, gazed upon and nurtured.
Doesn't our Father God do all these things for us? He sustains and nurtures us every moment. Sometimes we don't recognize His hand. But that may be because it's cradling us close and we've forgotten, become too comfortable in His embrace.
Lord open our eyes to the wonder of your parental care over us. How you clothe and feed and love and sing to your children. Give us the courage to move forth into the places of new birth that you want to take us.
Thank you for this sweet reminder tonight.
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1Cor.15: 58
We called up with excitement "How's she doing? Any baby yet?"
"Not yet" was the answer, but she's working on it, labouring....
We sent our love and prayers and walked away, my daughter and I, our hearts full. Mine was full with the vicarious range of emotions that the pains of childbirth bring...joy, expectation, trepidation, compassion, exhaustion and wonder. My little girl was just gloriously excited that a baby was being born.
I wonder what goes on in heaven at these times, birth moments, a new life, tiny body, fresh, untainted spirit, potential, hope.
Does the heavenly host revel this much when a soul is born into the kingdom, or even more?
Being born a first time, and then a second, eternity set before us, perilous, wondrous, overwhelming. The beginning of a journey is most often filled with hope.
Sometimes labour is hard and drawn out. It seems that the new life pressing to come forth is hindered. Cervix is widening, painfully, slowly. Not unlike a soul's birth or character being formed, the heart's opening can be too narrow or unwilling to allow the newness of hope to come forth. The soul too comfortable in the warmth of the familiar is unwilling to reach into the bright unknown.
Yet God's persistent hand reaches in and grasps hold of this hesitant one and gradually, firmly draws a squalling, frightened child into a new place. And really, once we clean off the gunk of the journey and press in close to the Father's heart, it's not so bad.
Bright and kind of loud, but a place of discovering, moving, feeding, being sustained by a new source of life.
And love as never known before. Being held, caressed, fed, sung to, protected, gazed upon and nurtured.
Doesn't our Father God do all these things for us? He sustains and nurtures us every moment. Sometimes we don't recognize His hand. But that may be because it's cradling us close and we've forgotten, become too comfortable in His embrace.
Lord open our eyes to the wonder of your parental care over us. How you clothe and feed and love and sing to your children. Give us the courage to move forth into the places of new birth that you want to take us.
Thank you for this sweet reminder tonight.
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1Cor.15: 58
"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
Zephaniah 3:17
Praying for you Beth...
Comments
I heard how your appearance down below was such an answer to prayer and that the baton of tonight's blog post was thrown to trusty and ready hands by Susan who is busy with far more important things at this moment! Thank you for an extra blessing this week.
Owen Edward Prock
...weighing 8lbs 13oz, and arriving at 1:38 a.m. on Aug. 16, 2008. Mom and baby are doing great. Grandma (a.k.a. "Mommy'sMum", is EXHAUSTED!!)
Thank you Ang for covering the blog tonight. Beth will be delighted in the words that were inspired by the birth of her son this night.
A quiver FULL of boys! (This is their fifth boy.) ALL the glory goes to the Lord Jesus Christ!
Blessings all, Susan
(Susan asked me to leave this comment for her. She had problems getting the blog to accept comments early this morning).
Congragulations Susan, and I think I'm going to put this up as a post now that I think of it. Let's shout it from the blogtop :))
Beautiful post! Congratulations to the whole Prock and Stewart clans.
Welcome little one to the world!
I wrote my blogpost this a.m. in my journal - I'm still at the cottage and now copying the blog from my journal.
Just read your post and Saturday's now.
Interesting how the spirit guides and directs us to write. You wrote about birthing, me toddlers.MMMmm..mmmm... Will He have someone write on preschoolers next...ahh...He is faithful and our understanding will come later I guess.