Friday, February 22, 2008

Birthing Change

As the General Conference of my denomination approaches (an event that takes place only once every 4 years, in which the church's stance on all issues are decided for the next 4 years), I've been hearing people talk a lot about changes they would like to see for the church and for the church to accomplish in the world.  As I have listened, I've been thinking about how change happens in a way that is faithful and effective and maintains the unity of the church, for which Christ prayed.  

I really think the process of giving birth is a fruitful metaphor to consider in this regard.

Giving birth does not start with the labor process.  Before a mom can go into labor, the body has to go through a lot of prep work.  It starts with an act of love, a mutual self-giving, an act of unity from two, out of which arises the conception.  So I wonder if the birthing of change can take place without the self-giving, the uniting of two into one - "two" different ideas or perspectives thought to occupy different realms of reality coming together.  In the conception of a human, part of the exciting and scary part is the total lack of control of either parent on what the new person will be like.  I wonder if change within community isn't like that in a lot of ways - ultimately, that which is conceived is the work and design of God, beyond the control of either "side".

Then that which was conceived is so fragile that it must remain inside the mother's body for nine months before it can be born healthy.  During that time it grows while preparations must be made for its reception into the world.  Like, most of the time a nursery and baby clothes and such don't just exist in the house - they must be prepared.  This time can seem to take forever. The day my husband and I learned we were going to have a baby, we were so excited that we were like, "Now!!!"  And the nine long months that stretched ahead of us seemed like an eternity.  In the same way, I wonder if change in our church and in our world can take place without some time of preparation, time for the change conceived and for the parents of the change to grow to sufficient maturity and the preparations can be adequately made.

Giving birth truly is a gradual process.  But there does come a point at which it finally just happens.  And there are a million ways that this takes place.  Some mothers spend days and days with moderate, irregular contractions and then take 15 hours to deliver the baby.  Others are driving down the highway and all of a sudden, pull over the side, here it comes!  So with change, I don't think there is any way to predict exactly when or how each individual change will be birthed.  But there does finally have to be a point of no return, when the time has come and there is no more waiting, no more of this "gradual" stuff - boom, get ready, its time.

At the same time, the act of delivery is a push and pull experience.  Your body contracts and you push, and then there is rest.  During the time of rest, the baby is actually pulled back up a little bit into the body.  When I was delivering my daughter, I pushed/rested for 2 hours (that really seems like an eternity when your doing it).  I was exhausted.  I was worrying that I wouldn't be able to do it.  No matter how hard I pushed, there did not seem to be any progress!  So with change, I think there are times when it is time for the change to come, the time for delivery has arrived, but, just like with contractions, its birth takes place through a push/rest process that may at times seem to go fast and at times seem to not go anywhere at all.

And then the baby is born.  You take her into your arms... and begin the very long and rewarding process of continuing to give life to this little one.  Because, ultimately, giving birth isn't a one time deal.  Rather, it is a beginning, the entrance of a new precious little person into the world, with all kinds of potential.  There are still sleepless nights, runny noses, and temper tantrums along the way as the child learns how to become.  But you wouldn't trade it, because there is such an overflowing of love that God creates such that the baby may reach full maturity.  So with change, I wonder if its need for continued growth and maturing doesn't suddenly come to an end, even once it is birthed into the world.  I wonder if it takes even MORE work, in fact, after the birthing process than it did beforehand.

1 comment:

Serendipity 2017 said...

Our family has been praying for a baby since August last year, but the Lord may be telling me to wait a little while. I gave birth by C-section to our only child Noah, and even after reading how painful it is, I'm still eager to have one!
Being a Mom is one of the greatest blessings I've had from the Lord.

Now that Noah is 9, there are times when I wish he'd be that sweet helpless baby again. I even tell him not to grow up too fast sometimes;)

Enjoy!