Poor Scott, he must have had the shock of his life when he came home one afternoon to find his four months pregnant wife curled up on the bed in the foetal position crying hysterically. I had sobbed many times during my pregnancy, but this cry was a "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" kind of cry. No, it wasn't the pregnancy itself that had me in that state, it was the negative comments I was getting from people, most of whom were random strangers, but it hurt even more when they came from dear friends. That afternoon a friend had very insensitively shared with me how fat I was becoming. The previous day while taking a walk at the beach, an older lady came up to me and said, "You must be expecting a boy, I can tell by how ugly you are looking." What? Did you just blatantly tell me that I'm ugly?! And it seemed to happen nearly everyday. Yet as piercing as the comments about my physical appearance tended to be, it paled in comparison to the anger I felt when complete strangers walked up to me and told me how horribly painful giving birth is and how I should expect to experience the worst pain I've ever felt!
On the other hand, whenever I received any positive comments about my pregnancy, I treasured them. Sometimes I wrote them down in my journal and read them over and over again, just to encourage and build myself up. One such encouragement came from a lady who was visiting our church, when I was around five or six months along. She approached me and began speaking so positively about the miracle of giving birth. With all the nightmares and scary thoughts I was having at that point, I have no doubt in my mind that she was a God-given gift! I recorded her words in my journal and read them every time I felt fearful about the impending labour and birth. She later sent me the story of the birth of her youngest daughter, and I had never heard such a beautiful account of birth. I will forever be grateful for the encouragement I received from that lady. My expectancy instantly changed. Although I feared the inevitable pain, I likewise looked forward to a beautiful and miraculous experience. Every time I felt discouraged, run-down or scared out of my pants, I would remind myself of this and the many other encouragements I received.
About four weeks ago I was at a baby store shopping for nappies and other essentials when I spotted a very tired-looking, heavily pregnant lady seated on the floor. Here was a perfect opportunity to bless someone by pouring the same kind of love and encouragement all over her! I walked up to her and started sharing with her my beautiful birthing story. Fortunately she didn't think I was weird, in fact she opened up her heart and started sharing how exhausted she was and how scared she was feeling about what was to come. She was so grateful for the encouraging words. We then chatted away like old friends, so much that after the conversation she asked me to help her choose a crib for her baby!
I was super blessed when I saw the very same lady two weeks later in another part of town. Yay! Another opportunity to pour out some love. She remembered me and smiled as I approached her. At that point she was due any day. I told her she was looking so beautiful and strong and encouraged her again about labour and birth. Again, she expressed such gratitude and walked away with a big, beautiful smile.
I now make it a point that whenever I see something beautiful in a pregnant woman, I tell her. You never know, it could impact her just as much as I was by the encouragement I received when I was carrying my beautiful Caramel!
Note: All images used in this post were captured by Michelle of MG Photography in East London.
