Renewing your mind
You hear all kinds of things about the power of positive thinking, and people sending happy thoughts your way these days. Although there is something to be said for the sheer positivity of these sayings, they still make me a little sad. Could it be because they are all fluff and no power? Sending happy thoughts and positive energy cannot be accomplished without a power source. In an earlier post, we talked about bringing God back into the parts of a woman's life that he created and fully intended to be a part of. How can this translate to the actual time when she will give birth? How can we face such a culturally colored and fear filled experience with trust in God? How can we take what has been called our curse, and transform it into the blessing God intends it to be? Can we feel, going into this moment that has been called every scary, negative, and trepidatious term in the book, that it can be beautiful for His glory? Is the answer happy thoughts and positive thinking? Well, yes and no. Only in as much as they acknowledge the creator and his beautiful intentions for this time, can they be infused with appropriate power.
When we begin to see birth as not a trial to be endured, but as a transformation from woman to mother that is accomplished with such emotion and power that it can never be rivaled by any other experience, then we begin to change our perspective and take back what our culture and our fear have robbed from us. It is true that birth takes a tremendous amount of resources, both physical and emotional, but when we bank on our own power to accomplish it, and go into it with a negative mindset that we just have to "Get it over with" then we will likely find that it leaves us exhausted and, although joyful at the arrival of a new tiny one, missing something that could have been there. I think I happened on a key that might translate into wonderful things for the process.
When reading another blog today, I was amazed at the author's insight when she started talking about how the joy of the Lord is our strength. (I'll post the link below so you can enjoy her post as well) I have always wondered about this, puzzling over how something I considered a consequence of happy circumstances could be a source of strength. That's when it hit me. Joy is no consequence, it is a choice we make when facing the battle of life that gives us the courage, motivation, and power to move forward. All the wasted time I have spent waiting to find joy, I had but to pick it up and clothe myself in it, assured that it was purposeful and powerful. How can I have this assurance? Because I know I am loved by a perfect heavenly Father, who knows me completely, loves me unconditionally, and has my best interests at heart. Even the things this world and culture consider trials and pain are put in my life for a purpose, and have a new meaning in light of this revelation. I know I am loved, and I know that no matter what valley I am in, I can wear the joy that gives me strength to climb from the valley to the mountain.
I can know, when it comes to labor, that God has a plan and purpose for me, and that each twinge he allows in my life is for my good. I can know that each moment is good, is doing great things for me and my baby, and is a truly positive and beautiful awakening to a new understanding of the power we can draw on from the Lord in our deepest and most dramatic moments. To get here, we must renew our minds, just as scripture admonishes, and here is where the happy thoughts and positive thinking come in. We must refute the lies of the culture that birth has to be some horrific, terrible, painful experience, and instead surround ourselves with the tons of positive stories available where women have depended on God's strength and have walked this journey before us, and come out the other side feeling like more than conquerors. We must daily clothe ourselves with joy as the hour approaches, greeting the signs of impending labor not with trepidation, but with excitement, truly trusting God's beautiful design, and with a mind completely renewed and ready to see Him work.
The promised link: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/10/when-you-feel-like-youre-battling-hard/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HolyExperience+%28Holy+Experience%29
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