So, I’m pregnant. Yep, there will be a new addition to the Unlocking Femininity family! It has been a stretching time for my faith while trusting Him with my body and my baby girl growing inside of me. It’s also been a time of miracles, watching how God is forming her so perfectly. I mean, how crazy is it that I’m growing a human inside my belly! Everyday I get to learn how mighty and great our God really is and I get the chance to praise for each day with my lil girl.
But, as precious as this time has been, it’s been very painful, stressful and honestly, I can’t wait to be done with it. My main motivation is not the pain, the vomiting, the other gross side effects, which will not be named, will go away but so that I can finally meet my daughter, this little person who will undoubtedly be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I’m longing for the day when I can gaze into her eyes, hold her in my arms and get to know this magnificent creation of God.
That will be a day of joy, a day of celebration and a day where all the pain will have been worth it. The birth of children is such an incredible and joy-giving experience; it will be like the day when we meet our heavenly Savior…times a zillion! As I reread John 16, I was struck by the imagery Jesus used in a way that had never resonated so strongly with me before:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
How awesome is it that God uses such an amazing event in a woman’s life to show us what meeting Him will be like? I love that He used something that reaches to the very hearts of mothers. He gave us such a beautiful picture with which we can relate to and it really puts a whole new perspective on pregnancy and childbirth! Jesus understands your pain and sorrow as a mother but He also gave you joy and relief at the end, which no one can take away from you. He turns curses into blessings and He let you know just an ounce of what it will be like in Heaven one day!
Like with the journey to a child’s birth, God knows that our lives here on earth are filled with pain and sorrow, but He’s given us a future hope in Christ Jesus. All the pain and sorrow that may come and go in your life will be worth it when you are finally reunited with your Savior! Like so many mothers before, they keep having children, keep going through the pain and sorrow because it is worth the end result…their children. Our journey of faith is so similar; you will no longer remember the pain because you will be made whole and be filled with inexpressible joy at the sight of Jesus. I bet we will all be able to say, “It was all worth just to be with You, Jesus.”
As more and more days pass in my pregnancy, I feel the urgency and the longing to finally be united with my child. Do you have the same sense of longing to be with your Savior? He promises us rejoicing when we are reunited with Him but do we live our lives looking forward to that day? There should always be that sense that this life isn’t it, that there is something greater and more beautiful waiting ahead of you. There should always be a longing for that “birthing” moment when everything is made whole, all the pain is forgotten and you are filled with unimaginable happiness at the sight of Christ. Our faith, our journey, our pain all points to our Savior but are you yearning for that day?
Are you longing to be united with Christ like a woman longs to finally meet her child?
Unlocking Femininity 
Congratulations Diane. I pray for a good “journey” into motherhood. Thanks for this great post. It is particularly timely for me because there are some things that God has made clear that I need to let go but it’s been difficult. Thanks for reminding me that Christ is worth every pain and suffering this side of heaven; that it’s all worth it just to be with Him.