A Word from Birgitta

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I’m probably not the only one who took for granted the incredibly brilliant and creative design of pregnancy until it happened to me. I’ve experienced many physical changes over the past 8½ months and I have been awed to learn about what has gone on within me. It has completely changed my perspective on God and his involvement in my life.

Faith does not come naturally to me. I am a person who has always been prone to doubting and questioning God. For a long time I floundered between believing that He was vaguely aware of my life from a distance and that He did not exist at all. When I did acknowledge His presence, I related to him as subject to master, often feeling scolded and constantly skeptical of the notion that God is interested in the details of my life. Becoming pregnant has transformed my heart and mind.

I am glad to live in an age where an abundance of information about pregnancy is available. I imagine that women of ancient times were amazed at the process, but as the majority of the changes are internal, it seems that for the most part, the progression of pregnancy would remain a mystery. I am very thankful that I have the privilege of reading many detailed accounts describing the remarkable work my body is doing internally to bring another human into being. The new developments I read about each week never cease to astonish me. As of this week, 2 weeks from my due date, my baby’s miniature and incredibly complex organ systems are complete and her lungs mature.

I believe the processes of conception, pregnancy, and childbirth are not the result of evolution, but are intentional and purposeful designs set into place by an omniscient Creator. The system for bringing forth new life could be different. Babies could be carried within the male body or they could grow from the ground. The familiar design of a new life growing within a woman for approximately nine months is the best design, and I love how it feels to be a part of something so wondrously ordained by God.

Colossians 1:15-17 affirms that God not only created everything in Heaven and on earth, but He continues to hold everything together. That thought is so beautiful to me. Generations upon generations of the human race do not stay alive without the hands of God being continuously involved. This is why I believe that He is intimately involved in what is happening within me. It would be impossible for me to deny His existence or His interest in our finest details now. My pregnancy has given me evidence of the unseen, and for that I will be forever thankful.

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17)

 

But I want it!

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When I was 9 years old, our 4th grade class studied Africa. One textbook photo showed a family of elephants, the adults protectively circled around several babies. My youthful eyes landed on those little elephants with their miniature trunks and wispy baby hair, and I fell in love.

At the dinner table that night I told my family I was going to get a baby elephant for a pet. Everyone had a good laugh and moved on to other topics, but 9 year olds don’t give up easily. I began a relentless campaign to get my elephant and refused to let it drop, even putting my plan in writing to try to make Dad understand.

I told him I would take full responsibility, would build a shed for my elephant in the back yard, and would make money to buy his food by giving rides to neighbor kids. Every bit of this logic was sincere and (at least in my mind) doable.

It didn’t take long for Mom and Dad to tire of my elephant talk, and eventually they delivered a clean-cut “no” along with, “Don’t bring it up again.” Then they added a kicker: “Margaret, you need to be content with what you already have.”

I wasn’t, and determined not to be, until I got my elephant.

Fifty-seven years later, I’ve given up on the elephant but still have trouble with contentment. My unrest isn’t from wanting a bigger house, a newer car, nicer clothes, or any other touchable possession. It’s a craving for a greater understanding of God and a mind like Christ.

Sometimes I listen to a teacher pray passionately for global revival and wonder why I’m not crying like she is. I watch a Bible study video and can’t believe I missed the specific truth she got from the verses. I hear a sermon about miracles and want to see them happening all around me. Scripture says, “No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.” (Ecclesiastes 1:8)

True. And it applies as much to intangibles as to tangibles.

Finding contentment with what we have and then resting in it doesn’t come easily. The apostle Paul told us he’d found it (Philippians 4:11), and we wonder how. Then we look backwards at his life and see that virtually everything had been taken from him: home, possessions, position, respect, safety, authority, even his health. After that, if he received anything back, he appreciated it no-end and was content. He didn’t get angry or bitter, because his contentment was based on something other than what he had or didn’t have. It was based on Christ.

So, I have 2 choices. I can either lose everything like Paul did and learn contentment the hard way, or I can set aside my restlessness and let God decide when (or if) he’ll give me what I hope to receive.

And while I’m waiting, maybe I’ll take a trip to the zoo.

“True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” (1 Timothy 6:6)

Happy Helping

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In this blog space I’ve already shared that my greatest desire as a mom has always been to see my 7+2+7 (7 children, 2 children-in-law, 7 grands) embrace the Word of God and walk in its truth. My mom prayed the same for her 3+3+17, and she did even more than that. She offered to babysit our little ones so we, as young mothers, could attend Bible study.

Organized women’s studies with workbooks, weekly lectures, and discussion groups were a new thing back then, and Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) met in a church just across the street from Mom’s house. She’d already attended herself and said she had soaked up enough. It was time to pass on the blessings to the next generation.

Since BSF had a teaching program for children ages 2-5, our babies weren’t included, so Mom stepped in. Despite having broken her back in multiple places and being in her 70’s, she met us each week at the door with good cheer, already wearing her work apron, to care for our babies. Then, as the months and years passed, she never said no to additional moms wanting to study Scripture, sometimes caring for 6 or 7 babies at once.

Our weekly routine was: drop the babies at 9:00 am, return at 11:30, and find Mom had made lunch for all of us. If these were stressful hours for her, she never let on. Instead she regaled us with stories of what a blessing it was to be able to babysit.

Mom’s willingness to give a mountain of time, energy, and creativity to the little ones did several things:

  • elevated her to servanthood status in God’s sight.
  • boosted her heavenly rewards significantly.
  • frustrated the enemy by removing an obstacle that would have kept young mothers from attending Bible study.
  • bonded her to a crowd of little ones.

Mom would add one more: “They kept me young!”

Children less than 2 years old are needy, inconvenient, and labor-intensive, but they’re no less important to God than anyone else. Since Mom agreed with him on that, he empowered her to do what she did.

Those of us who “used” her to babysit walked back through her kitchen door after Bible study each week refreshed from quality time away from our 24/7 children, brimming with gratitude. When we tried to put the toys away, Mom would say, “Oh leave that for me. It’s such a happy mess” and we  believed her.

Not all of us are called to care for babies, but we are called to elevate the study of Scripture. And if we’re looking for a surefire way to get “spiritual brownie points” on God’s reward board, we can facilitate this kind of study in the lives of others… of course that’s after we first promote it in our own.

“Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me.” (John 12:26)