Thursday, January 9, 2014

Looming schedules

senk 2014
In American society, we tend to view due dates as if we're paying bills. The larger medical practice often projects a specific date that looms in our minds in anticipation of our newborn, until it turns into stressful frantic when the date passes. And yet, not even 5% of births actually occur on the due date!

Inductions, c-sections, and interventions often occur unnecessarily because of the anxiety over nature's perfect timing. At the first sign of strong contractions, we often expect labor to have begun before more certain signs emerge. In doing so, we send ourselves into a spiral of uncertainty that needs a calming reminder that everything is okay. Pregnancy is not an illness, it's a blessing - and it's a blessing that confronts our scheduled plans with a jovial laugh. There are times when intervention is necessary, but for low-risk pregnancies, it really is best for mommy and baby to be patient and let God's timing work along a range, rather than a precise date.

Do you help with this, friend? Are you a source of positive encouragement or negative stress on a mommy-to-be? No matter who God places in your life today (whether a pregnant mommy, an unknown face, or even the remotest of friends), consider how your words and actions (or lack thereof) can come across to that other God-loved person.

We let specifications, schedules, and expectations rule our lives in ways that are unhealthy. Dare to be different and challenge those standards with a new one: stopping, savoring the smile of another human being, or actually taking time to help paint a smile where it's needed.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks for commenting!