Birth Stories.

A dear friend just recently had her second child, and throughout her pregnancy we dreamed about what her second child's birth story would be. Would it be different than the first? Would it be the same?

And I have been thinking a lot about this concept of a birth story.

Ultimately, I believe that God writes our life stories. And I believe He has knit each of us together in our mother's wombs, thus I believe He even writes the birth stories. But I also believe it's the parents responsibility to tell that story....to determine just how that story will shape their own lives and the lives of their children?

Years ago, Peter and I had the privilege of walking alongside a family that is near and dear to us whose daughter was diagnosed with leukemia when she was just 4 (and I believe she is now 8 and she is doing well!) I have written about this dear family before (Magical) and (Newlywed Group). And Peter and I just love them deeply.

Anyhow, as their year of hell came to an end. I'll never forget what they said. "It's up to us, as parents, to write our family's story. It's up to us to decide how we will remember this past year! It's up to us to paint the picture and determine how the story will be told for years to come."

And it got me thinking about birth stories.

Every single child has a birth story.

And it's up to the parents to determine how they will write that story.

Some moms may be upset that they didn't do it naturally or they may be upset that after laboring for a tremendous amount of time they had a c-section. Or they may be upset that they didn't get to labor at all and ended up with a c-section. Or they may be upset that they weren't able to bring their baby home and their baby spent three weeks in the hospital without them.

The bottom line is...it's up to us as the parents to decide whether we will harbor that anger and become bitter about the birth, or simply embrace everything that comes our way. Will the words we write be laced with bitterness or laced with sheer joy?

And I can't help but think...what will LB2's birth story be? Will it be like his brothers? Or will it be different? Will I have another c-section? Or will I ride out the contractions and have him vaginally? Will I have drugs or no drugs? And I can think through all of these things and agonize over them, and in reality, it doesn't even matter. What matters is that a new little being will be in my arms and years from now, months from now, it won't even matter how he entered into the world.

Every child has a birth story, and each story is so very unique to that little being.

I can't wait to share Jack's birth story with him. It could have been really traumatic, a story that left me bitter and angry for years to come or it could be what it is, a beautiful story of community and God's grace and mercy.

Xoxo,

Malia