“Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, so you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all God does.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5 MSG)
“The mystery at work” is a turn of phrase that holds my attention. I’ve been pregnant. Four times actually; two tiny babies never grew strong enough to draw their first breath. Though fifteen years have passed since my last pregnancy, I still remember well “the mystery at work.”
Conception itself is a mystery to me. How the most intimate act between a married couple in the utter privacy of their bedroom can spark another life, that’s still beyond me! Then how a few cells come together, divide and multiply; also mind-boggling! Bones begin to form, muscles and sinews and skin all knit together, organs develop and systems jumpstart, all in the unseen sealed-up cavern of the womb. What skilled surgeon operates without brightest light? Yet God does it all in deepest dark. The womb stretches to comply with the astronomic growth between week 1 and week 40; it’s astounding!
Yet, all this mystery is not without significant discomfort. From the first few weeks, morning sickness sets in. I don’t know why it’s called morning sickness but because it plagues morning, afternoon, evening and night. For me, the only hours I wasn’t at least slightly nauseous were the ones where I was sound asleep. After one has adjusted to the upset stomach, then comes the disappearing waistline, quite honestly, never to return again to it’s former glory. The cravings set in; odd things that were maybe never stomached before this tiny person took residence and started making demands. Next, the feet are lost entirely, somewhere the land of unpainted toenails, far below the girth of an ever-expanding belly. It’s alright though, you’d rather not see how swollen those feet are anyway.
And the first time around at least, I was anxious for birth. I couldn’t wait for the invasion of my body to retreat. Little did I know of the horrors that awaited in the birthing suite: the blood, sweat and tears yet to come before I’d bring this beautiful, world-changing baby into my arms.
I write all this to point it out plainly: mystery is beautiful but it is also, often uncomfortable. Even painful. When Solomon links the mystery of pregnancy to the mystery of God’s will, he isn’t wrong. Pregnancy is a painful, beautiful way to bring people into the world. We don’t understand it, yet we keep doing it. Similarly, surrendering ourselves to an unseen Creator is a painful, beautiful way to bring people into God’s will. Yet, it makes so much more sense than attempting to live this life apart from Him.
“God’s wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep
into the interior of His purposes.” (1 Corinthians 2:7 MSG)
Before we get discouraged, or decide prematurely that it’s too hard to follow God, remember what comes at the end of a long, mysterious pregnancy: a beautiful baby fills our hearts and hands. After delivery, we cannot imagine our life without this tiny, tremendous person. We are changed by their presence.
God’s plans for us are much the same, only times ten thousand. When His will is finally fully revealed in the rearview mirror, we will be wowed. We wills how all the discomfort and stretching came together to bring about the miraculous and we will be grateful to have played some small part in it.
Dear Lord, please give us patience with the mystery at work. We know that You are laboring amidst our darkness, bringing all things together for the good of those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. We surrender anew to the discomfort of growing toward Your will. Have Your way in and through us. Amen.