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Experiencing Jesus In The Midst Of Giving Birth

January 11, 2022 by Trailblazers Church

The birth of my second son brought me close to God in a way I had never experienced before. I know many women have had much worse birth and labor experiences than I have had, but the birth of my youngest was the most painful experience I had ever had in my life.

On my birthday, I started to have painful, Braxton Hicks (practice) contractions. I was hopeful that that meant I would be giving birth soon to my baby who was due eight days later, but I would not go on to deliver him until 4am on the eleventh day, three days late. I would continue to have these practice contractions hourly or more until the day I woke up at 3am with early labor contractions. My older son was born 16 hours after his labor started so I was optimistic that I would be having this boy sooner rather than later. 

I labored all day. Then, when my husband and son went out trick-or-treating on our street, my contractions intensified and became very close. As soon as they got home we went to the hospital. A few hours after we were admitted, I opted to have an epidural for the pain. As soon as I got the epidural I started to feel convicted to ask my nurses if they were Christians. 

When it was time to start pushing, the conviction grew stronger but I was very nervous. I ended up pushing for 2 hours because my baby was trying to come out at an angle and his head was stuck. After an hour and a half of exhausting pushing, my epidural began to wear off. I had prayed all night for Jesus to make the next contraction less painful than the last. 

At this point I was begging Him for help because the pain was too much, and I was so tired. Although the pain didn’t go away, I felt Jesus’ presence in a way I had never felt before. He felt so tangibly close in the midst of my pain. It was like He was right there with me to comfort and encourage me. 

I suddenly didn’t care anymore about how nervous I was to talk to the nurses about Jesus, or about anything frankly. The pain was so much, and Jesus was SO CLOSE that nothing mattered! I spoke to the nurses with such frank boldness as I had never experienced before or since. They let me pray for them and be real with them. 

By the time my son was born, I was so excited to meet him, but also so relieved. I wept to my husband about how I never imagined our marriage getting back to the point where we would be able to have more kids. God had healed us so much in the past two years, and I was so grateful. 

I pray that God will give me overwhelming courage like that again and all of the time. This experience showed me how much Jesus is really there for me, even in the nitty gritty. If I trust in Him and call on Him, He will answer in one way or another. Now I do have more boldness for Jesus, and I feel it increase with every day. I thank the Lord for all of these things. I do not know how women survive without Jesus, but I am here to tell you: He is here for you.