When Labor and Delivery Seem Daunting

Our labors are meant to point us to a much greater reality—Christ and him crucified. 

I was about nine months pregnant with my first baby when I received some advice I will never forget. A sweet friend of mine told me to be very mindful of the first moments when my daughter entered this world. She told me of the incredible miracle of watching a baby take their first breaths of oxygen while knowing that God is breathing literal life into their bodies. A few weeks later when my daughter was born, I yelled with relief and excitement, “Breath of life! Breath of life!” as she took her first breath. I’m sure the nurses and the doctor in that delivery room thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care. I was seeing the active hand of God’s grace as he breathed the breath of life into her body. I was experiencing, as you may have, the time for my daughter to be born. Whether you birthed a baby yourself or are the mother of a child through adoption, you are a recipient of this grace. You have received it both in the breath of your own life and in the life of your child. The intricacies of labor and delivery; the entry of a child into the world; the biological realities of how a child comes to be; all of these things scream of God’s glory and God’s grace. God’s kindness is on inexplicable display in the birth of a child, perhaps more than it is in any other time. In the midst of the curse of humanity, God is near. In the midst of agony, we know that joy is coming.

I’m a Stay-at-Home Mom and I Decided to Go to Seminary

In the Fall of 2019, I started discussing with my new husband the prospect of attending seminary. I had been in pursuit of theological education since the time I came to Christ but I was eager for something more. I wanted the intensity and academic rigor of a Masters of Divinity program. At the time, I was not pregnant. In the Lord’s providence, just a few months later, I was pregnant with our first child and accepted into the online Master of Divinity program at Midwestern Seminary. 

When pursuing any higher education, the question most people ask is, “What are you going to do with your degree?” Although I do have dreams and goals for continued education, writing, and teaching, my primary reason for going to seminary was not rooted in a career path. In fact, just before the birth of our baby, I quit my full time job to be a stay-at-home mom.

What good is a seminary degree for a mom? In answering that question, I have five reasons why I decided to go to seminary.