We (mothers) take great pains to prepare for birth, we hire doulas and midwives, take classes, read books, write out birth plans, and choose our champions.
Then when the time comes, we warrior through. Our bodies opening, stretching, contracting, pushing – painful and raw. Or sliced open through three layers of flesh, then stitched up, and stapled. Or our hearts are stripped down to one overwhelming want and in that pain we wait and wait and trust and pray to one day have empty aching arms filled with the child of our heart rather than our bodies. We all bleed; we all weep; we all hurt for the consuming joy to come.
We are birthed into mums. A whole new creation blind and mewling and amazing.
We keen to share these stories, these universal mothering stories – from the painful and heartbreaking to the funny and silly – down to the blood and guts of the matter. We, listeners, laugh and cry and wince all at the right moments. We are mums – these are our war stories –this our pain – our bliss – our heartbreak.
Birth, however, is not done with us. Instead we move onto the long process of birthing babies into toddlers, into preschooler, into children, into tween, and teen and hopefully finally into strong, happy, wise, loving young adults. These are pregnant days, in which, we are again transformed.
This long journey comes complete with stages and transitions and pains – waves of anguish, frustration, fatigue, sweet anticipation, lament and joy. We breathe in the joys and out the lament and inner wailing. But these are not always the champion stories of our first births. These stories can be full of our disgraces, discouragements, and shame. Because these are the moments when we face our own weakness, our own blindness, our own sin. We fail to prepare for these moments. They are the stories which twist in the gut and lead us to repent. These are our second birth stories. We are reluctant to share these tender stories, but untold they remain the deeply held pain of our spirits. Because birth is not done with us.
Because He is not done with us.
Today the #wholemama word is: Birth. Follow me over to Overflow to read more stories from lovely #wholemama storytellers.
September 16, 2015 at 10:11 pm
Seriously! Submit this to the Good Mother Project! http://goodmotherproject.com/submit-your-story/
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September 17, 2015 at 2:05 pm
Yes! Because you never, really, stop being a new mother. You’re just new at babies and then new at toddlers, preschooler, kids, middle schoolers, high schoolers, adults… you’re always becoming a new mother, it just becomes less of a physical feeling.
Love this post!
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September 19, 2015 at 6:07 pm
I really love this. It paints a very real picture. “Birth, however, is not done with us.” I don’t think it’s ever done with us even when our children are grown. There are times when they need us, when they are struggling, and we groan and struggle with them as they move forward into the new. You’re right – God is not done with us. 🙂 As moms we continue to learn and grow even when our children leave home.
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September 19, 2015 at 8:40 pm
Oh, yes, the second birth stories. So much more painful than the first ones. These are beautiful and true thoughts on this week’s wholemama theme!
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September 19, 2015 at 10:10 pm
Birth is not done with us. That line will stay with me. Thankful for your beautiful contribution.
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