Nesting, Pregnancy and the Christian Walk

I'm doing a lot of it.

Joel says he's not quite sure what nesting is, but he definitely hopes it lasts post-delivery... though I'm sure he does think I'm partially insane for scrubbing a clean shower floor, scouring by hand the toilet bowls and kitchen sinks each day and spending a half hour on a two square foot section of countertop to make it pristinely white. He also laughs that I yell at him for dropping crumbs on a floor that I had just swept five minutes before (as I pull back out the broom to resweep up his mess). I'm starting to avoid certain rooms, so that I don't go off the deep end. But when my son drops a piece of food on the ground, looks at me and says "Mommy vacuum", I begin to wonder whether it may already be too late.

I really don't know what has gotten into me.

But don't worry. I don't just clean all day (though it has become a consistent part of my day... I truly am wondering what has happened to the "old" me). Liam and I  enjoyed a week of warm weather (we went from having the heat on one weekend to the a/c the next! We won't mention the fact that it is only in the 50s today...) and taking strolls to the park (and usually racing home before the thunderstorm hits- and yet I still keep forgetting to check the weather!). I've finally started battling using my new sewing machine that Joel bought me for Christmas- and after many bird's nests, a few pins, and countless rethreadings later, I've mended clothes, sewed some bassinet sheets for a bassinet mattress I made, and sewed a carseat cover, play cube and tag blanket for Aiden. :)

Yeah, this "nesting" has really gotten to me. Funny that it never did with Liam. But as I went to wash another load of laundry last night, only to lament that there was not enough to wash (only about 5 articles of clothing, yeah this nesting definitely didn't help with the flooding already going on in the area and the sewer backups!)- probably because I had washed a load the day before... and the day before that... and the day before that... well, I had a moment of epiphany in an otherwise brainless pregnancy. I came to the realization that nesting is a lot like the Christian walk, or at least how it should be. This then led to me thinking of pregnancy as a whole, and I decided there were many similarities between the two.

All throughout pregnancy, a woman is supposed to live a selfless life, practically "dying to self" in some areas (although this has been a struggle in terms of nutrition for me this time around). We are to watch what we consume, exercise faithfully and be weary of certain things that could cause ill harm to the unborn child within our womb. Similarly, in our Christian walk, we have been told to "die to self" and forsake all to be His disciples. We are instructed that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and we are not ourselves. We are thus taught to honor it. This can also be exemplified in a nutritious/exercise type of way, but also realizing that the spiritual nourishment comes through reading the Word, prayer and communion with Him. We can also "exercise" spiritual discipline in abstaining from the cares and temptations this world offers to us.

All too well, I learned with this pregnancy that you can easily become sick. Not being able to rely upon conventional or even alternative meds, we need to look to Jehovah-Rapha for healing. Same goes in our spiritual walk. We can still be led away to sin, and only returning and acknowledging our need for forgiveness and relying upon Him will bring true spiritual (and oft times simultaneous physical!) healing and renewal.

In my ninth month of pregnancy, I've now entered the final days before delivery (official due date is Sunday- yay!) At any time, though this was true throughout the entire pregnancy, our child could make his arrival. Unless medical intervention is used, only God knows the date he will be born. The same goes with our lives. Only God knows the return date of His Son. All we can do- both in pregnancy and life in general- is be prepared, living each day like it could be our last. I've been staying on top of the cleaning and doing all the little things to prepare for the birth of our son. Do I approach my spiritual walk with the same earnestness?  Does my walk show others that I'm joyfully anticipating the return of the Son? Is the fact that I'm a believer clearly evident to them in the way I live my life? Am I focusing upon what is truly important before His arrival or just tinkering with the trivial and not redeeming the time effeciently?

Finally, labor and delivery. That's a summary of the Christian life right there! :)      Only the Lord knows how long it will be, how many trials (or contractions!) we will experience... and yet each are for a purpose, and the result is His glory if we see it through to the end! Sometimes we can intervene, but it may rob us of some of the blessings the Lord has in store for us. It is painful, but human sin came with that price. Yet it is not unbearable, because His mercy is great and He walks by our side. We can sometimes act against it (like tensing our body with anxiety instead of relaxing it during labor), but again, this will only bring us pain until we acknowledge Him. Complications do arise, the race is hard, but in the end, if we press on, we will (Lord willing) reap the reward of life if we do not give up!