When a woman is 9 months pregnant, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind a baby will soon be born. But when a woman is 9 months and 7 days pregnant, everyone begins to wonder (especially the mother) if she’ll be pregnant forever.

Linnea woke this morning feeling fine on her regular 6:00 am walk but by 7:30 was wondering whether or not today might be D-day. When I came out of my room at 7:45, we chatted about several other things while Skylar and Micah played nearby, and then she brought up the situation.

Since she and Adam were hoping to have the baby in the comfort of their own home this time around, we decided it would be wise to call the midwives, located an hour away. Adam was at work, and the children’s other grandma, their babysitter for the day of birth whenever it arrived, was 45 minutes away.

At 9:00 am Linnea decided she was in labor. By 10:00 Adam was home, the children were gone, but the midwives and doula (Adam’s sister Aron) were still at large. It looked like Linnea, Adam and I would be meeting the baby by ourselves, and although Adam and I shared a few panicky glances, we never let the laboring Linnea see or hear our nervousness. I asked him for their turkey baster (for suctioning) and he whispered, “The midwives don’t do that.” And that was the end of our collective baby delivery knowledge.

At 10:27, the midwife arrived literally 5 seconds ahead of baby Autumn Faith, just in time to make the catch without taking off her jacket or putting on sterile gloves. Linnea, Adam and I simultaneously burst into tears of joy and relief while the midwife calmly took care of business. Aron walked in during baby’s first cry, and the second midwife a few minutes after that.

There is no greater miracle than a baby being brought into the world, and hours later our awe was still intense as we marveled at what had happened.

We wondered how anyone could participate in a birth and separate the process from God himself. Only he could put together what we witnessed this morning. Only he could design the intricacies of a new baby’s body, equipping it to change seamlessly from living in a watery world to breathing air. And only he could establish an eternal soul within that body, creating a person who will live eternally, because he made it so.

Tonight we are still in a collective daze, all of us brimming with good cheer, not just because a child has been born but because we were allowed to participate in the wonder of what God accomplished in our midst. Our celebratory toast included lavish prayers of gratitude, and since the pressure was off, the pregnancy was over, and the baby was safely delivered, a heartfelt Scripture:

“The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.” (Proverbs 13:19a)

Thank you, Lord.