Birth: Promise and Peril

I was at a meeting a short distance from our local hospital, when my wife called and asked me to come to the maternity ward at quickly as possible. The daughter of a longtime family friend was there to deliver her first child, and there were complications.

When I arrived at the maternity ward, I learned that the mother had delivered a healthy baby, but she had died. The grief on the floor was palpable. Not only family and friends were in tears, but the medical staff was stunned. This was meant to be a place of celebration not grief. Our pastor had been called by the family, but he found himself ministering to the staff as well as the family. The chaplain was there to provide support for all.

I was reminded of this when we recently welcomed a new great grandchild into our family. Like her sister, she came several weeks early. Both mother and daughter are well, but the baby had to stay in the Natal Intensive Care Unit for about a week where she was ministered to by supportive, competent staff. Even so, we were in prayer daily for her.

There are things in life that we take for granted. Childbirth is one of them. The mother carries, nurtures, and delivers a child with the expectation that both she and the baby will be well. It does not always happen that way. We have had other experiences in our own family that attest to the peril as well as the promise of birth.

So where is God in all this? Birth is a miracle of God’s creation. Unfortunately, it does not always proceed as planned. In these moments, we pray to God for strength and to guide the hands of those who care for mothers and babies. Thanks be to God!

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