A long time ago, when I was not quite 9 months pregnant, I experienced a physical phenomenon like no other. I was lying in bed on my back (of course due to a rather large basketball size baby belly) sound asleep. Then suddenly, I felt an enormous unsettling feeling in my stomach. I awoke for fear I was going to end up shouting at the toilet. Did I eat something spicy? Do I have the flu? Oh please Lord, don’t let me have the flu now while this pregnant! I don’t think I can even bend over the bowl at this point.
Then the unsettling feeling intensified until extreme fast waves of magnanimous pressurewere all-round the baby and inside. Now I was scared. The pain increased and it felt like I was living a scene from Alien. My hands were grasping all the covers around me with clenched fists and I felt as if I was going to faint very soon from the horrible pain and pressure I felt from inside. I woke my husband up. . .I probably yelled at him. I did that a lot since the day I found out I was pregnant. I blamed hormones. He woke up and was a bit calmer. I told him I was afraid something was wrong and perhaps I was going into labor. My fear ran wild. This was my only child to carry and it was considered “high-risk” and I prayed: “Please God don’t let anything happy to this baby!”
Then after a few minutes of painful buildup a sudden relief came over and all the pain and horrifying pressure stopped. I felt as if I had just ran 3 miles in 2 minutes. Physically, I was exhausted and fell back on the bed and wiped the sweat from my forehead. We laid there debating if we should go to the hospital. When he asked me to describe what happened, I told him without any other better understanding, “It felt like I was turned from the inside out starting in my stomach region.” When I said that I was reminded of the quote from Carol Burnett when asked what it was like to give birth. . . “Take your bottom lip and pull it over your head.”
Naturally, the first thing that morning we called the doctor and they had me come in right away. I had just been there. They monitored me weekly. It seems every time I went in our little girl tried to do some kind of covert mission to keep the nurse from getting her heartbeat for very long. The nurses all told me I would be having a very very active child based on its actions in the womb.
The doctor and nurses all heard my dramatic description of the event the few hours before while they attached devices and listened and looked for the baby inside.
A few minutes later after a long pause from the physicians and nurses, they looked up me and began to smile. “You seem fine, Mama. Your baby girl decided to do a back flip in a few seconds inside of your tummy I would guess. Because two days ago her head was way down here and now it is way up here under your ribs!”
“Wow!” I said. I sat there for a minute then asked them 50,000 questions like: “Are you sure? Is she okay? Is it going to happen again? Are you sure I’m not in labor?”
Not long after that we gave birth to Taylor Kate. That was 11 ½ years ago now and that night she did a back flip has been one of our favorite stories to share about her. She seems to have a somewhat calming spirit contradicting the nurses’ warnings.
In Luke, we learn about Elisabeth becoming pregnant by a miracle from God and while she was pregnant she is visited by Mary. Elisabeth is about 6 months pregnant when Mary tells her that she is to have Jesus, our Messiah.
- Luke 1:41 (KJV)
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
When I read that in my Bible yesterday, I had to chuckle. How faithful and confident and loyal Elisabeth was when her baby flipped inside. She just chalked it up for the baby being so happy to hear about Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Centuries ago she didn’t go to a doctor every week . . .have ultrasounds, blood tests, monitors hooked up. Keeping in mind that Elisabeth’s baby was John. Elisabeth and her husband both couldn’t have children before. Elisabeth was too old to become pregnant but God told her husband Zacharias otherwise and the miracle occurred. Moving forward later to her being 6 months pregnant and Mary her cousin shows up and little unborn baby John (John the Baptist who baptizes Jesus) does a handspring. Elisabeth just knew in her faith and in her heart that she was okay, her baby was okay, and the world was about to be filled with a new joy from our God giving his only son to be born on the earth.
I love it! I love that everyone was so pumped about Jesus coming even though King’s were killing kids, even though people were poor or living in bad times they were so happy and elated over the birth of Jesus. Now here it is Christmas and I myself have been so busy with shopping, and with social events, and working. I settle down in scripture and it somehow connects me personally in the word of the good book in ways that I really relate and I am reminded that all that other stuff is just fluff. That is how good He is. . . and no . . there isn’t an app that can do that . .ha ha.
Thank you God for Christmas and sending us your son. Thank you for your love, peace, and guidance. And to all of you . . .I pray that you have Jesus in your heart and get to experience his true wonder.
