So I didn’t actually “labor.” I had two c-sections with my kids, but I did experience the discomfort of pregnancy in several ways. And I find myself uncomfortable again…let me explain…
First, if you thought this was my way of telling you I’m pregnant. No. And I’m cracking up if that even ran across your mind.
It’s more that we are in a challenging season of parenting and I said something to my oldest son that makes so much sense to me. I lovingly shared,
“Son, when you were in my womb the Lord did this thing. He made it where I was so uncomfortable. I couldn’t sleep. I was peeing every hour. Your little feet would kick me inside. I was so uncomfortable and frustrated that I was ready for you to leave my womb. I was ready for you to get out. I needed you to emerge for my benefit and yours. Well, the Lord is doing a similar work again. We can have so much tension and I can be so frustrated (and so are you) that I just need you to step out on your own for a little while so that when you come home I will enjoy you.”
Did you know our brain waves function differently when we hear our parent’s voices? It’s part of how we survived as a species, and it’s part of why trauma from our parents can have such a deep impact, but I also believe it is part of why my voice isn’t that easy for my sons to hear. They are wired to react differently to my words. And the teen years seem to be when this phenom is amplified.
When Jesus is explaining His purpose to His disciples he uses this analogy:
“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” John 16
They are distraught as He shares that He will be leaving, and in the midst of comforting them He points toward this process, this literal labor of love, as He tries to help them see the bigger picture. As with most things we deeply value there is a growth and birth process of some type that is not always easy, but is beyond necessary. Parenting has cycles of that process, and I am always amazed at how resistant I can be to allowing God to unfold my son’s stories and to do a work in me too. I get so disheartened by what is so normal. I get so confused by my exhaustion, when it actually makes so much sense. I’m in the midst of labor pains part 2. Once again, things are uncomfortable. Once again it hurts, but this time more my heart and mind. And once again I am peeing every hour, but for very different reasons.
Labor Pains Part 2