It's all part of the process

">I had to post this cartoon. I found this great site with some very funny prego cartoons - one for each week of the pregnancy. I'll try to get one up each week until little Micah shows up!

This is the fourth time I have sat down to try to type this post. One time yesterday, I started to type and my 1 year old came up with a book and closed the lid to the laptop...hmmm....point taken.

So - they are now building a house out of pillows and blankets and chairs and who knows what else - so I should have a couple minutes. Hopefully I'll be able to get some coherent thoughts down!?!?!

I am officially in my 31st week of this, my fourth, pregnancy. I think I have finally come to the point of giving in to the "process." Let me explain...

This baby is the most "planned" of our four, though "family planning" is quite an oxymoron if you ask me. But I think I have spent most of this pregnancy struggling against the natural side-effects of the whole prego process. I mean - who really welcomes aching joints, and spreading hips, and stretch marks on top of stretch marks and all sorts of other crazy stuff? But as I was walking with a good friend yesterday, she asked if I had been able to keep up with my workout schedule (again - "workout" and "schedule" are very funny words to put in the same sentence when you have little kids)? I told her that I had to a certain extent, but as the nausea came and went and came and went again, and I as I had weeks where the thought of getting out of bed caused panic and tears, I haven't quite been as consistent as I've wanted...and boy have I been feeling, not to mention seeing, the effects. She responded with something to the effect of "you can't really stress about that in pregnancy, it's kind of just part of the process." Very true, and it got me thinking.

I have always thought metaphorically - since I was pretty little. And sometimes, I know, I tend to over-metaphor or over spiritualize things, but God really started to point to some things out to me about the correlation between physical and spiritual pregnancy/birthing. Here are just a couple that really stood out --

* There will be aches and pains and stretching and growing in pregnancy. It hurts, it's uncomfortable, and you REALLY want it to stop - but they are all signs of growth and that the baby is healthy and developing. But in the midst of all the discomfort, when you feel a kick or a squirm or a stretch from within - it is an amazing reminder of the promise that is growing and coming soon!

* Your lifestyle HAS to change if you want a healthy baby...maybe not dramatically, but there are things you will do differently to keep yourself in shape and to ensure the safety of the little one inside. Spiritually, I think you need to act different and prepare differently when you are pregnant with the things of God.

* Toward the end of the pregnancy, you really, really, really, want to be done - and NOW! But, the best thing for the baby and mom is for the baby to be in the womb until the appropriate time. Premature babies can survive, but generally are not as healthy. Even thought there is an excitement and anxiousness to the coming birth - it needs to happen at the due time.

* Then, of course, there is the whole labor analogy - it hurts, it's uncomfortable, it's a bit scary, but sooooo worth it!

* I was also thinking about after the new little one is born - you don't just plop them down and say "grow." There is a lot of nurturing and helping and feeding and watching that happens to get them to the point where they are mature. And, oh, how nice it is when older siblings help and jealousy does not set in. As Tom says, God likes it when His kids play nice together.

So - there are my musings about pregnancy and birth and the whole (or at least part of) the spiritual aspects. I think I'm ready to give in to the process and ride this thing out for remaining 9 weeks - like I had a choice!!!! Bring it on!