How can I pamper you?
At the age of 27 I have found one of the places I truly believe God wants me to be his hands and feet for the long haul. And let me tell you, this is a wonderful place to be. The place where you know he has had in mind all these years of wondering and wandering. Heartache and questioning. Trial and error. Classroom and real life. Freedom and responsibility. I am here. I still have other passions that I want to see him glorified through but I am so excited to be on this journey. I believe that is why we have passion; to give glory to him. To use it for the kingdom, to see hearts changed, to bring hope and shine light on the restoration that Christ brings.
I can now see that my obsession with Health Occupations in high school was not because I was supposed to be a nurse (like I thought when I was 17) but because I am a lover of the Creator of the human body. I am amazed at the way a woman's body nourishes a baby (or babies) in the womb, births that baby, and then gives that baby the perfect food for the first years of life. I love to see women empowered by tapping into the strength the Holy Spirit has to offer. I love to see what looks like sacrifice when women makes choices for their young. I love to see the mother inside awaken and move mountains. I love to see husbands look at their wives in amazement of her beauty, strength, intuition, and faith in the One who knitted her together.
I can now see that working for Holly Ross for those years in sunny San Diego were more valuable than I could ever know. I learned so much from her and a lot of the time it wasn't her words. It was her life, her day to day, her choices, the way she parented and mothered. She made me question the routineness of health care. She taught me that my mother's intuition can be trusted before a big pharma company. She taught me the value of nutrition and exercise. Those babies taught me that the days might be long but the love is huge and that we will make it and that a better day is around the corner. They taught me that babies don't have to cry, that they will show you as much trust and respect as you show them. Crazy, right? ;)
I can now see that not only did the Lord want me to show his love in San Diego and witness people being saved but he also wanted to show me excellent leadership. He wanted me to possess those same qualities. He gave me mentors to teach me.
This new journey of becoming a CAPPA certified postpartum doula gives me the same excitement that moving across the country to church plant Elevate gave me. With that excitement comes fear also just like it did with the cross country move. Do I have what it takes? Will I be enough? Have I bitten off more than I can chew? The word doula actually means servant. I LOVE that. I can't think of any better way for me to serve and be Jesus than to love on mamas, babies, and their families. A day spent helping a mama with breastfeeding, doing her dishes, playing with her older children, wearing her baby while she rests... this, this all sounds heavenly to me. And to get paid to pamper? Even better. I hope my children will learn the importance of mother infant bonding, of serving each other in all seasons of life and that my boys will be phenomenal fathers. They do have a pretty great earthly example. If the Lord gives me a daughter I hope she will be the one making choices about her body. Not a doctor she sees for 20 minutes once a month. I hope she trusts the Lord with her bank account, her body, her children, and her everything. I hope that I can be that example for her. Long way to go.... This is just the beginning and I should be completely certified by March of 2017 but hopefully sooner. I am just so thankful and blessed to be where he wants me to be. To have that passion and fire. My passion for postpartum doula work has already had a positive impact on my relationship with Will and Hank. I am so excited to be a member of an association that is dedicated to evidence based care and continuing to change their curriculum based on new discoveries.
Cheers to love, babies, pregnancy, the fourth trimester, changing the postpartum period for women in the USA, passion, journey, and knowing what I want to be when I grow up!!
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