Scripture
Our verse for today comes from John 16:21, “A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”
Background
Carol Burnett famously said, “Giving birth is like taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head.” Another joked, “I’m pregnant. This morning I told my husband to put the Oreos somewhere I couldn’t reach them…he put them on the floor.” A card read, “I’m having a natural childbirth in that it’s natural to take drugs that lessen excruciating pain.” On the other hand, one woman wrote, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” I walked alongside my wife for six pregnancies, sympathizing with her as she suffered intense nausea, constant discomfort, and supreme anticipation of the arrival of our child. Even to hear her retell the high and lows she went through brings me only slightly closer to understanding what it was like. Somehow, as sick as she was during the first one, and as long as she was in labor, she agreed to keep having them. And now, as they are growing into their own persons, her tie to them as their mother is a connection I will never fully grasp. But there are no words in me to express my joy and gratitude for the family that we have because of her.
Application
If we should know anything about our lives on earth, it should be that they are full of seasons, periods that come for a while but then pass. Some last much longer than we prefer, some leave all too quickly, and some only pass in how we are able to cope with them. Unemployment can be debilitating, sibling peace may be fleeting, and cancer may change what we think is really important. But in every season, there is our Father with His strong hands. Even as He offers His peace and comfort, He points us to the heavenly end when the only seasons we may know will depend on how He manages the weather. Your present joy may take a hit, your struggles may yet linger indefinitely, but God is ever with you. Find in Him the rock on which you can weather the changing times.
Charge
As we seek Him today, let Jesus help you with your anguish and sorrow. If you cannot forget it, ask Him for better things to remember.
Rich Holt / Originally Published on : BCWorldview.org
Also published on : Medium.com.
