My Labor Story

On August 29, 2016, exactly 3 months ago, God blessed my husband and me with a beautiful baby girl. His faithfulness throughout the entire process was so evident. I would like to share my labor story with you as encouragement.Disclaimer: I’m not trying to convince any woman toward a certain birth plan. The summary:

1. My husband just so happened to be working from home the day I went into labor.
2. We just so happened to have an appointment scheduled with my doctor that afternoon.
3. I was in labor for about 6 hours and didn’t know it.
4. I needed to get 2 doses of an antibiotic 4 hours apart before our baby was born, or else our baby would have needed to stay in the hospital longer for extra monitoring. I just so happened to get the last dose 20 minutes before I started pushing.
5. I gave birth naturally, no induction or pain medication, to a beautiful 7 lb. 7 oz. baby girl less than 5 hours after getting set up in the hospital room.

I’d like to share with you 3 things God has shown me throughout this process.

1. God’s timing is absolutely perfect (See summary points 1, 2 & 4)

A few days before our daughter was born, my doctor told my husband to go to work that week since she thought I wouldn’t have the baby until my due date of September 3, 2016 or a few days later. I’m willing to bet God told him to stay home. Thank God he listened.

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! – Psalm 147:5

We had been praying for a specific doctor from the OB office to be the one to deliver our baby. That was not guaranteed, since whichever doctor for the practice was on call that day would be the one to deliver her. The doctor we had been praying for ended up being on call.We were anxious about getting the antibiotics in me quickly enough. Our first nurse, bless her heart, didn’t seem to have the sense of urgency we were expecting to give me the first dose. But it all worked out perfectly!

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! – Psalm 27:14

2. God’s people are called to prophesy over each other (See summary point 3)

Two days before our daughter was born, my husband and I had gone to a Holy Spirit filled conference and a woman prayed over me to have a “painless birth”. She said to me, “That curse was broken”. At that same conference a speaker had said something along the lines of “When we give our lives to Jesus and become born again, it’s as if we never ate the fruit”.  He was referring to the time when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was after this, “the first sin”, that God said women would experience the pains of child-birth (To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." – Genesis 3:16). So I held on to the prophecy from the woman, that I wouldn’t experience pain, because Jesus died for that pain and bore it for me on the cross!

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. – 1 Corinthians 14:3

While my labor wasn’t completely painless, the doctors and nurses were amazed at the way I was able to deliver our baby. I don’t say that to brag, or to insist that all deliveries should be that way. I take absolutely no credit for it. It was clear and obvious to everyone in that room that it was the Holy Spirit at work. He covered that whole room with His peace, and He definitely shielded me from most of the pain of child-birth. It literally provided us with opportunities to glorify His name to several doctors and nurses in the hospital.

3. Whatever God calls you to He will give you the grace to do (See summary point 5)

Before I was pregnant, if you would have asked me if I was going to try giving birth naturally, I would have said you were crazy and that God gave us modern medicine for a reason. Early in my pregnancy I heard plenty of reasons why to give birth naturally. I also heard about plenty of horrific, painful labors that could result from that. I couldn’t tell you when, but the Holy Spirit told me that I could give birth naturally and that God had designed my body to do so. Throughout the pregnancy, I had absolutely NO FEAR of giving birth and doing it naturally. For anyone who knows me, this is a complete miracle! Only by God’s grace is that possible! He covered me through the pregnancy as well as the delivery!

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7

So why share my labor story? First of all, it’s to give God glory for He is so faithful. Second, it’s to encourage you in whatever the Holy Spirit has called you to. Maybe you’re in a difficult situation and just needed to be reminded that He has you in His hand. Maybe God has been telling you to encourage someone but you’ve been afraid to look silly because you’re not sure if you’re hearing Him correctly. Maybe God has asked you to do something that seems incredibly irresponsible and impossible for you to do. Whatever it is, I hope this encourages you to step out and trust God.

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