Like childbirth...

"My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you..."

(Galatians 4:19)

My wife, Jody, had a bit of a challenge delivering our first child, Ezra. It was the day before her OB was going to induce her delivery (she was already almost 2 weeks past her original due date). So she and her mom power-walked for 5 hours at a local mall... which, sure enough, did the trick! Jody came home, showered, did her hair, then we left for the hospital.

Things were progressing fine for the first few hours of her delivery. She'd received the epidural that she had asked for ("Thank you, Jesus!")... and the dilation was coming along. But close to midnight, the doctor informed us that there was a potential problem. Every time she had a contraction, the heart rate of Ezra dropped. "It could be that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck," our doctor said. So they gave Jody some medicine to stop the contractions, and let Ezra's heart rest.

Around 3 or 4am, the doctor decided it was time to get the baby delivered. They gave Jody the drug Pitocin to help start her contractions again. The doc got the "suction cup" ready, and after only a couple of strong pushes, Ezra was born ("Thank you, Jesus!"). It turned out that the umbilical cord was just pinched, and not wrapped around Ezra's neck. Later, the nurses told us that most doctors would have probably opted for a c-section delivery, so we are very grateful that our doctor did not.

As I was reading Paul's letter to the church in Galatia today, I stumbled across this simple phrase: "My little children, for whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you..." And it made me think about the two childbirth experiences I've been a part of with our kids (technically, I guess you could say three if you count my own birth!). There's a lot of pain, struggle, and hard work that goes in to childbirth... but even more, a TON OF LOVE. Women are amazing. I'm so grateful for all of the love (& strength) that my mom gave when I was born.

And I love how Paul is equating childbirth to spiritual birth. There's a community of people whom he loves... and wants them to draw close to God. Some have made that jump quite easily. For others, no so much. He LONGS for those people to be formed into the image of Christ. So much so, that it hurts. THAT'S the kind of longing that I need to have for the people here at Palmdale UMC. That all of them, too, might come to know the life-changing love of God as they walk closer to Jesus. Some have ventured beyond just Sunday morning worship... others have yet to take that first step into a deeper relationship.

I know that as a man, I can only really talk about childbirth... I haven't actually experienced it. But the same can be said for Paul, right? Praise God for the women in our lives who have helped give birth to us... Praise God for God's amazing, life-changing grace... and Praise God for the people of Palmdale UMC whom God has entrusted to my spiritual care. May all of us be formed more and more into the image of Jesus.