“I Bet You’re Ready to Get This Over With”

I sit here with only one day until my due date. Yes, my belly probably looks big to you. It feels pretty big to me, too :-). With babies ranging from about 9 to 11 pounds, yes I am fully 9 months along :-). I have contractions all the time and it is hard to get from the floor to a standing position. I’m sure every woman who has made it to 40 weeks can attest that pretty often you hear: “I bet you’re ready to get this over with.”

The problem is, I don’t like to meet stereotypes. Who says that just because I’m 9 months along that I have to be miserable? I really do enjoy being pregnant. I also enjoy labor. I don’t get epidurals, not because I am “Superwoman” as my friends so sweetly declare that I am. I don’t get them because I enjoy experiencing the fullness of my labor. Letting my body feel exactly what it needs to do and letting it do it.

I am sad to say that throughout the years, I have had many dear friends go through everything from infertility, to miscarriages, to delivering stillborns. I prayed for them fervently in the private moments of my home for God to heal them and bring life into their wombs for the first time or again. I had a front row seat to them supporting and cheering on me and others who got to experience the joy of the life inside us while they were still pleading to receive that same joy.

So, that being said, No. No, I’m not so ready to get this over with. The baby inside of me is a gift. It is the most tangible gift I will ever receive from God, and who am I to complain about the groanings of my body while I wait to open this perfect gift? I know women who would give anything to get to experience these same groanings.

I thank God that I get to experience the leg cramps, the sore feet, the achy lower back, the heartburn, and the sleepless nights. When I am in labor, I thank God that I get to experience the pain of contractions. I am so thankful that with every contraction, I am getting closer to meeting the new child that is about to become a part of our family.

I know women have gone through very difficult pregnancies and I would not ever want to make someone else feel badly because they had a hard time being joyful in the midst of extreme sickness or circumstances. I just want to tell my story. And my story is from the perspective that God has helped me through every difficult time in my life and pregnancy and delivery is no different. When I deliver my baby, it will be a holy moment. A moment when I get to hold in my arms the fulfillment of God’s faithfulness and goodness to me. It is a moment worthy of worship and thankfulness.

Father God, thank You so much that I have the blessing of getting to carry a child in my womb once again. If it’s a burden, it’s a burden I gladly bear. I don’t want to taint the beauty of the gift You have given me by complaining and acting miserable. I want to joyfully experience every day that I get the pleasure of experiencing life in my womb. You are good to me and I believe You will continue Your goodness to me through the delivery of this baby. Thank You for this pregnancy, thank You for the experience of the labor, and thank You for Your grace to raise this child with as much love as You have shown me.

#pregnancy