When: Mother's Day last year
Where: My cozy bed, the grocery store parking lot, and Virginia
Who: my sister, me, and my niece
Why: Because this is the best birth story I've ever been a part of
Alright. We are ready for storytime.
I had just woken up from my Mother's Day nap (because we all just want a nap on Mother's Day, right?!?) and noticed a text from my 40+ weeks pregnant sister saying that she had been laboring at home since early that morning and would send new updates as she progressed. Hooray! My niece was going to make her debut on Mother's Day...how special is that?!?
I needed to make a quick run to the grocery store so I grabbed my phone to make sure I would be available for the latest baby news and headed out the door as happy as a clam. I was well-rested and my sister was going to have her baby...all was right with the world.
I hopped in the car and made the short drive to the store. On the way there one of my favorite songs came on the radio. It was "You Make Me Brave" sung by Amanda Cook. It was a song I had heard many times before but that day it was different. The chorus came on and it reminded me of a conversation I'd had with my sister the week before. Even though she had given birth before to her oldest daughter, she told me that she felt more anxious this time around. I assured her that it was completely normal to feel this way. In fact, I had felt the same way the 2nd time around as well. Maybe it's because we know that childbirth is hard since we had experienced it once before. Beautiful. Wonderful. But hard.
And that's when the ugly crying started. You know the kind. The can't-catch-my-breath-with-snot-running-all-over-the-place kind of crying. I sat in that grocery store parking lot with mascara streaked down my face crying out to the Lord for my sister. I prayed for her protection during labor. I prayed that she would feel brave during childbirth. I prayed for my precious niece who was about to be welcomed into our family. And I sang out in worship to the One who makes us brave.
As soon as the song ended I looked it up on YouTube and texted it to my sister as encouragement during her labor. That was a little before 4:00pm Texas time (5:00pm Virginia time).
I had no idea until later that it was during those exact moments that my sister was in the car on the way to the hospital to give birth. She arrived at the hospital at 5:01pm (4:01pm Texas time) and my niece was born at 5:04pm (4:04pm Texas time).
Y'all. Go reread those last few sentences. And let's break it down:
1. My sister is a rock star. She had that baby minutes after arriving at the hospital. Rock. Star. Forever.
2. Some will call the timing of all this fate or sister's intuition. But I'm sorry. You are wrong. There is absolutely no way this could be anything other than the Father tugging at my heartstrings for my sister and her baby in that moment. No way. Period. It was all Him.
3. You may remember that we buried my mother-in-law on Mother's Day. The very next Mother's Day my precious niece was born. If that isn't a reminder that the Father is the giver of life and not death, then I don't know what is.
I am in awe of how the Lord makes himself known to us. In complete awe.
Jess, thank you for letting me share parts of your amazing birth story. Always remember: YOU ARE BRAVE. Love you. XOXO
To listen to the song that is forever known as the "Auntie Jess song" in my house, click on the video below.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas...present mamas and future mamas.
Love,
Michelle
To read my Journey to Motherhood click here.
To read about the Mama with All the Babies click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment