With the Lord's Help

Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain.  She said, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man." Genesis 4:1

What a miracle life is!  From the first moment when sperm and egg unite until the day, some nine months later, when a child is born, the hand of God is evident.  Science alone cannot explain the interweaving of cells and enzymes with intellect and emotion.  Brain and bone and breath all come together in a symphony of order that defies analysis.  Despite our abilities to build machines that seem to reason and to clone sheep and mice, to operate on unborn babies and to scan the inner workings of the heart, at the moment of birth we can only stand in awe.  It is only with the help of the Lord that new life enters the world.  

During pregnancy and often afterwards, a mother's body experiences myriad changes.  We are bombarded with hormones that reshape our emotions just as the child growing within us reshapes our body.  We may cry or laugh when we least expect to and become a total mystery to the husband who thought he knew us so well.  Favorite foods send us dashing for the bathroom and sudden cravings drive us to the fridge at midnight.  Is it any wonder we need extra help from the Lord to get through it all?

When Eve says, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man," I don't think she's speaking only of the process of birth  I'll wager she was talking about the morning sickness, the swollen ankles, about sleepless nights, and sending Adam out for more olives.  It must have been a frightening experience for her.  She had no mother to comfort her and tell her all this was normal.  She couldn't get advice from her aunts or sisters or friends.  There was only Adam and he was probably as clueless as she!  I suspect Eve developed a close relationship with the Lord during her pregnancy, depending upon Him to meet her needs. 

As modern mothers we can take comfort in the knowledge that the Lord who was there for Eve is also here with us.  Times and the world may have changed, but the Creator of both has not.  He is able to uphold and sustain you and me just as He did the very first mother.  And when we hold our own newborn, we can echo her words in wonder: "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth this child."

For you created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  Psalm 139:13-14

I praise You, Father, for the miracle of new life.  Thank You that You are always willing to help me with this precious child You've placed in my keeping.  May I always remember she (he) is Yours, not mine.  In your holy name.  Amen.

-Pamela J. Kennedy
Daily Grace for Mothers 
Meditations from a Mother's Heart