On Monday, I received one of the greatest gifts a friend could give me – I watched the ultrasound of her little one growing in her womb.
When you hear the announcement that someone is pregnant, you can register that there’s a baby in her womb, but the significance of that reality doesn’t necessarily impact you. Over time, you see her belly grow and months later, Lord willing, you can witness the baby for yourself.
To be honest, for years, the hardest part of my own infertility was receiving pregnancy announcements. My heart was grateful the couple received this miracle, but a strong wave of grief for my own loss would hit me like a freight train. It would take a while to settle my emotions so I could rejoice through the process with the expectant mother. By God’s grace, I’ve been able to have peace and joy when I hear of another’s pregnancy the past few years and have come to realize that every single conception is a miracle to be celebrated!
There’s always been a curiosity in me about life in the womb. The story of Mary, the mother of Jesus and her cousin, Elizabeth, gives a window into the the Lord’s work even in these approximately nine months of quick development. Luke 1:41-45 says,
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!’” (Italics added)
The baby “leaped for joy” inside Elizabeth when he heard Mary’s greeting. Mary and Elizabeth lived anywhere from 100-150kms from each other. They didn’t see each other frequently so it isn’t like the baby knew Mary’s voice from familiarity. There was something spiritual going on between the little baby in Elizabeth’s womb (who we later come to know as John the Baptist), and with Mary and her newly conceived baby, Jesus, the Messiah.
We see other accounts of the feistiness of babies already at odds with each other while in the womb in Genesis; one example being in the account of Rebecca’s twins, Esau and Jacob.
“But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her:
Two nations are in your womb;
two peoples will come from you and be separated.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.
When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob.” (Genesis 25:22-26)
A baby in the womb is such a miracle, and it is truly an active life, indeed! Have you ever meditated on what happens within a womb? How does an egg and a sperm conceive into a clump of cells? How do the multiplying cells know to become organs, tissues, bones, and so on? How does each body form fingers on hands and toes on feet, and ears on the side of the head? They don’t look at the beginning of their formation like they do when they leave the womb. How do they know to change? What determines the DNA strand that dictates the hair colour? And that baby’s unique personality? Apart from a divine Creator, this is impossible. And yet, God loves each one of us so much that He put great detail into each one of our little bodies to make us all unique:
“For it was you who created my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.
My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.”
Psalm 139:13-16
Though my friend had announced her pregnancy to me, and I knew logically that meant that a baby was growing in her womb, it was hard to fully grasp that considering her belly hadn’t shown evidence of it yet. By faith, I believed it to be true. Weeks passed with very little change to her belly. We talked about baby but it was still hard to embrace the significance of what was happening within her, especially because I hadn’t experienced that for myself. And then I witnessed the ultrasound. That wand moving back and forth on her belly and the picture of baby on the screen brought deeper reality to the life happening within her and a well of joy sprang up in me! With permission, I’ve begun touching her belly and speaking to baby, especially because I read the baby can begin recognizing voices at sixteen weeks. You better believe I’m talking to baby lots before he or she leaves the womb! A deeper level of joy and intimacy has grown in me for this child now; a connection I couldn’t quite have until that experience.
You know, our faith journey is quite similar. When we first hear about Jesus, it’s hard to fully grasp the impact of the good news He has for us in that we can have an intimate relationship with the One and Only God because He defeated sin and death for us and is offering us eternal life with Him to all who “Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Once you begin that relationship with Him, His Holy Spirit indwells you. I think this can be likened as similar to witnessing the ultrasound of new life. Our eyes become opened to the reality of the hope we have in the Lord. Hebrews 11:1 explains it this way, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.”
As our faith grows, it’s like continuing to witness the ultrasounds of life growing in the womb. What started as little cells develops into a tiny little tadpole looking body. Then the brain and other organs start developing, then the fingers, toes, and ears. The tissues and skin. And after time as Holy Spirit continues to transform us from one degree to another in the glory and likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), He prepares our spirits for eternal life in heaven where our glorified bodies will join us one day. And on that day when we die on this earth, our maturity will come to completion and we will enjoy eternal life with Christ in heaven, similar to a baby entering the world from the other side of the womb; the difference being that a baby enters a sin-tainted world and we will enter a world where there is no more pain or suffering, only pure joy and peace!
Praise the Lord that “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Like a loving parent, the Lord celebrates every moment of growth we experience in Him. He adores a willing spirit and joyfully works within us to help us understand more of Himself. As my friends begin talking to their baby so he or she can get familiar with their voices before birth, the Lord speaks to us through His word. The more we study it; the more we can recognize His voice. And it is beautiful! Zephaniah 3:17 (which I noticed just happens to be the verse of the day on Biblegateway.com!) says, “The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love. He will delight in you with singing.” Our Father is singing over you and I today. Listen for His voice and take delight in His love.
