Spirit Gives Birth to Spirit
She turned around as I followed her down the hallway, looked into my eyes and asked, "So what did you think about that?" My nurse preceptor and I had just finished coaching a patient through labor until the delivery of her healthy, happy baby. I was speechless in amazement at the whole experience.
"It never gets old," she told me with a sparkle in her eyes. "The miracle of new birth."
That's why I am so thankful for the preceptor to which I have been assigned. Even though she has been helping deliver babies for years, she has not lost her love for the job and compassion for her patients. It would be easy for the miracle of new birth to become less exciting when you see it day after day for year after year. But then you remember to see things from the perspective of the patients and their families. We as nurses experience it every day, but for each patient, this is an experience that is changing the rest of their lives. It truly is a miracle.
I believe that God, as the creator and inventor of the labor and delivery process, designed birth as an expression of His own heart. Every aspect - the months of preparation, the struggle and pain of transitioning from the womb to the world, and the overwhelming joy at the first cry of new life - all these things point us to Christ as the life-giver and to the Lord as the One who makes all things new.
I love how the Bible speaks about birth:
God loves to bring forth new life through the process of spiritual birth in us. He loves to make things new. I will never forget the day that I was "born again" and made new. There is something beautiful and unbelievable about how God's grace can lead a person to lay down their life and die in order to be raised up in resurrection and "born again" by the power of Jesus' own death and resurrection. It is truly miraculous. And no matter how many times I see it happen, it never gets old. It never ceases to amaze me - God's grace bringing forth new life.
Even to this day, years after my spiritual birth, I experience "little births" from time to time as I realize that God is constantly making me new and "birthing" new things in me. He is ever breathing new life into me by His Spirit. This is why I love how Jesus said, "The Spirit gives birth to spirit."
Just like the process of carrying and delivery a baby, we also go through spiritual seasons of intense preparation and growth that often requires a period of waiting and stretching. We go through pain and push our limits, but in the end, we have something new and beautiful and miraculous - something that is a part of who we are, yet also a display to the world of the power of Love.
Hear God's words to us when we go through the times of waiting, preparation, growth and stretching, pushing and pain:
"See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19)
"It never gets old," she told me with a sparkle in her eyes. "The miracle of new birth."
That's why I am so thankful for the preceptor to which I have been assigned. Even though she has been helping deliver babies for years, she has not lost her love for the job and compassion for her patients. It would be easy for the miracle of new birth to become less exciting when you see it day after day for year after year. But then you remember to see things from the perspective of the patients and their families. We as nurses experience it every day, but for each patient, this is an experience that is changing the rest of their lives. It truly is a miracle.
I believe that God, as the creator and inventor of the labor and delivery process, designed birth as an expression of His own heart. Every aspect - the months of preparation, the struggle and pain of transitioning from the womb to the world, and the overwhelming joy at the first cry of new life - all these things point us to Christ as the life-giver and to the Lord as the One who makes all things new.
I love how the Bible speaks about birth:
Isaiah 66:9 (NCV)"I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born."
Galatians 4:19"My dear children, for who I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you."
John 3:3-8Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."
"How can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!"
Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
Even to this day, years after my spiritual birth, I experience "little births" from time to time as I realize that God is constantly making me new and "birthing" new things in me. He is ever breathing new life into me by His Spirit. This is why I love how Jesus said, "The Spirit gives birth to spirit."
Just like the process of carrying and delivery a baby, we also go through spiritual seasons of intense preparation and growth that often requires a period of waiting and stretching. We go through pain and push our limits, but in the end, we have something new and beautiful and miraculous - something that is a part of who we are, yet also a display to the world of the power of Love.
Hear God's words to us when we go through the times of waiting, preparation, growth and stretching, pushing and pain:
"See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." (Isaiah 43:19)
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