Artwork by Emily Wierenga
An expectant mother strokes her bulging belly,
Hopeful, wistful and dreaming of the future.
She dreams of the day when she will hold this creation of love.
And experience firsthand, his first words, first steps and a whole new world of firsts.
And though a portion of her life is spent,
she feeds off of the fact that this new life
growing inside her still has his whole life ahead.
A life she can help shape and mold into the man God wants him to be.
Anticipation builds along with a little fear.
There is so much to do to prepare, to get ready.
Books to read. Nursery painting to be done. Classes to attend.
…and then the thought of the birth. Oh my! Will she be able to do it?
This impossible feat of pushing a life from complete dependency
into the air of a world that insists that you learn to do for yourself.
This flesh splitting, every muscle contracting hard work of birth?
Fear creeps in….until….carrying the weight of this love child
seems too much to bear and pushes her toward anticipation again.
I. am. expecting.
Pregnant with ideas that love for my Savior has conceived.
and He has caused a miracle. A new life to grow inside of me.
I have prepared. Painted the nursery, in a way.
I’ve been afraid, will I be able to do this? Bring forth this life inside of me?
But then, the weight of carrying this idea around
has finally gotten to me, “When am I going to finish this book already?”
and the labor is hard.
Encouraging words and ice chips don’t help, and no amount of pushing seems to get the words out.
And I scream, sweat on my brow, “Get this baby OUT!”
It’s about to happen.
Because I really can’t hold it in anymore.
Pray for me friends, this is harder than I expected…
The artwork used for this post is done by my beautiful blogging friend Emily Wierenga. Her blog is incredible! You can check it out here. She is one of the reasons I love this new blogging world of mine. Her writing is rich and digs deep. Her paintings are vibrant and alive…there’s just nothing not to love about her!
Sharing with Michelle: 
…sharing a playdate with Laura: 
….finding heaven with Jen: 
…hanging out with L.L.: 
love this. and praying for you through the journey.
Thank you dear friend.
i am so excited for you, for the delivery of this child within you…
Thank you. I see that you are “giving birth” over at your place as well. From fear to faith. Press on, dear, sweet sister.
Birthing and bringing life to God’s plan for our lives is not for the faint-hearted. Wishing you when you feel your weakest that a spirit of dont-give-up-ness pushes you onward!
Thank you, this nearly faint-hearted girl needed to hear that.
What a strong and helpful image. Will certainly say a prayer for you. Delivery is challenging, but so satisfying but full of blessings.
Thank you Amy…and thanks for stopping by my place…and for your sweet prayers.
They really do call it labor for a reason =) And I think God will be laboring to deliver me til the day I die. What a wonderful post… and godspeed on your book. Nice to meet you!
Nice to meet you as well. Writing a book is hard work. If I were paid hourly, I’d be in the 100′s of thousands of dollars already… :/
Creation always leaves enough space for miracle. Be blessed as you enter this growing space.
Thank you Matthew! It’s a pleasure to see you here. Expecting miracles, Kim.
To continue your analogy, I’ll go out on a limb and hazard a guess that, once you work through your delivery, you will end up being a wonderful parent!
Here’s hoping I can catch up on my backlog before your baby is ready!
I’m pretty certain that will be no problem. I have SO much work to do….
I understand this laboring well. Praying for you through it, friend. And Emily’s art is always beautiful…she does inspire.
She does inspire, and so do you lovely writing friend. Your prayers are coveted.
Wow — I don’t know what it more powerful. Your words or the artwork. I love this word for 2012. Expecting. It captures so much of who we are and what we do. What we want to do. Our hopes. Our fears. Our dreams.
Thank you so much! To have my words even come close to comparing to Emily’s work is truly an honor! It’s great to have you here!
Beautiful, beautiful post. You are a treasure, my friend.
Thank you dear Michelle!
GOD’s Peace to you as you bring forth what He has created, to the praise of His Glorious Grace.
Peace is always good in the midst of expectancy.
So great!! All the best to you
You will learn through the pain greater beauty…
Thank you Tara…Father does have a way of making beautiful things from the dust!
Sounds wonderful… pregnant with ideas and expectations… Sail on to and through it!
It is wonderful. I never know what is in store for me each day, like today meeting you!
What a wonderful post – so happy I stopped by. Expecting – the words arouses all sorts of emotions. Have a wonderful day
Thank you for coming by Ms. Kathleen. I am trying to expect great things from Him every day. This is harder than I Expected! ;D