Delivered

I am the mother of 6 children, but only 4 were delivered alive into my arms. Delivery is a crazy thing, and each one of my children came into the world in radically different ways.

My firstborn, was a traditional institutionalized birth. The doctors made all the decisions and everything was treated like a standard medical procedure, nothing natural about it.

My first daughter was a c-section. I was led into a deliviery room being told that I had to do things this way because my daughter was breech, was huge, and had no amniotic fluid left. None of which turned out to be true.

My middle daughter was a hospital VBAC, where my husband stood at the door as my protector and guardian, running interference with the hospital staff and allowing me to progress with a midwife in a much more natural process.

By the time our youngest came around, we ditched the whole thing and had a home birth.

Likewise, my children are drastically unique individuals. My son is analytical, my daughters are artistic, creative, and enthusiatic, respectively. They have been trained by fire and have come out as pure gold. They have experienced for themselves a different kind of delivery, the kind that comes from God's hand.

Jeremiah 30 declares the promises of the Lord regarding deliverence. Fortunes restored and brought home again to possess the land (v3); Salvation and destroying of enemies, along with discipline and justice (v11); Health restored and wounds healed (v17); multiplication of God's people and honor (v19); the honor of being God's people (v22).

Interesting how many of the same promises of God towards us, His chosen people, are the same as the experiences of parenthood. As parents, we bring our children home to our land, we save them from harm (not from sin, only God can do that!) and guide them with proper discipline. We bring healing and comfort. Our love multiplies as members are added to our families, and we all have the honor of being chosen by God.

Just like a mother delivers her child, and in my case, in various ways, God delivers His children. Just like we promise to love and care for our children, God does the same for us. It might not always look like we imaged it would, but deliverance is coming!