I'm getting ready for a birth, prepping dinner for my family, triple checking my bag, baking cookies for the nurses. 🙂 When a mom calls me in early labor I'm trying to be calm as I ask questions and reassure her, but I get an adrenaline surge, too!
And when I get that call I realize I also immediately start to pray. Not every mother I work with will share my faith, and that's okay - I want to be sensitive to everyone's belief system, because birth IS sacred and we need to be careful and respectful of parents' faith most especially when it may not be similar to ours. But my faith includes prayer, and when I am on call for a family I am praying for them daily. When I get the call that birth is coming soon I pray even harder as I prepare - Guide me, direct me, let me be Your hands, let me be Your voice, let me speak the words this couple needs to hear and let my presence be a comfort. Help me create a safe and sacred space for this little one to enter the world...
Being asked to participate in such an event, being a witness to a miracle, is an honor I will always be in awe of... I am deeply, deeply humbled that I have a chance to stand in this sacred space with parents and watch a new spirit enter the world. It's an indescribable joy!