Genesis 3:16

“to the woman He said, ‘I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’”

i like to be prepared for what is ahead. it’s probably under being a control freak; i like to know what is expected so that i never feel caught off guard. so i did some research yesterday about what happens during labor and birth.

Oooh. so much pain in my future! i’m not a big fan of pain in any way or form, never have been. many people consider me quite wimpy actually. and as much as i can argue, push comes to shove, i have never been a believer of the phrase, “no pain, no gain.”

so reading about all the expected pain that comes with delivery of this precious child, i started to get scared.

i don’t know if i can do this? what if i pass out? what if i just don’t have the strength?

it got to the point where i was questioning why in the world God would allow something so amazing to have so much pain. sure it’s because of the first sin, but goodness!

so many times the Bible reminds us just how precious children are to God. children are a blessing! Psalm 127:3-5 “children are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him.”

so here is my question: how can something be a curse and a blessing at the same time? is childbirth truly a curse from God? there are some women who don’t have as much pain as others, and others who have such difficult labor. does God choose who to lay on the curse and then let others slide?

John 9:1-3 “as they went along, they saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’”

perhaps God serves different purposes in different women's labors. perhaps for some women a difficult labor displays God's glory to those watching because she depended on Him to bring her through it. for other women, perhaps God allows the woman to have a painful labor to test her heart, to see if she will remain faithful to Him.

just some food for thought.