Birthing

It’s been a long time since I gave birth, thirty-five years to be exact. But the memories linger for a lifetime. Giving birth involves waiting, surrender, and pain. The outcome, however, brings such joy, and leaves a permanent imprint on the heart. It changes everything. It’s life altering.

This week we will celebrate a birth. The birth of a baby that changed everything for all humanity, a baby who became the model for us of how we are to live this life here on Earth, and a baby who became the Way to live life in eternity.

When a new baby is born, we give a gift. As my gift to this baby this Christmas, I am taking seriously a question I heard in a podcast I was listening to last week.

What needs to be birthed in your life?

As I have been pondering that question, I have mentally traveled a sobering road of discovery. I’ve asked myself, “What in me needs a do-over? Where could I use a reboot? What good thing is slowly dying in me that needs new life, a rebirth, so that I can live more like the baby we celebrate this week?”

Through this pondering, I ‘ve come to the realization that what needs to be birthed in my life is forgiveness. Now comes the waiting, the surrender, and the pain, but I know if I have more forgiveness in my life, it will change everything. It will be life-altering.

What needs to be birthed in your life? Patience, compassion, unconditional love, generosity, kindness, selflessness – the list is endless. What change will be your baby gift this Christmas? Don’t expect it to happen overnight or under your own efforts. Invite God into the labor.

Looking for a midwife,

Joan