As I was thinking over what I wanted to share about the twins' birth story, I realized that I wanted to back up a bit and share this prayer that a close girlfriend gave me a few days before the girls were born. This prayer plays a part in the story, and I didn't want the birth story post to be too long.
My girlfriend found this through what the world would consider a lucky chance encounter, but I believe she was led to it by our Father. I'll always appreciate her scribbling it down on a borrowed scrap of paper and remembering to pass it to me. Thanks Lillian.
On the Approach of ChildbirthBefore she labored, she was delivered;
Before her pangs came, she bare a son!
Isaiah 66:7Fear not, worm of Jacob,
O people of Israel,
For I will help you.
Isaiah 41:14
The hard, painful hour of delivery draws near,
And in the midst of the pains and fears
That course through me
This fervent prayer rises from the depths of my soul--
May it ascend to you, Eternal Parent!
With every pain, with every pang that seizes me,
My words die on my lips.
Only your name, Yahweh, remains alive on them
They utter this cry alone: Yahweh, my Elohim!
You who are my shield and my protector,
My comfort and my rescue,
The one who dampens my fears and my fright,
The one who embraces me in hope,
The one who is my strength--
Oh, as I raise my tearful eyes up to you, Parent of All,
May it draw your compassion down to me.
Let your mercy shelter me,
So these birth pangs do not overtake me,
So I am able to bear them with courage and strength.
Oh, that your parental grace
Might guide me safely and securely
Across this awesome threshold.
All-Compassionate One, shorten my suffering.
Let me soon achieve the joyous goal of this labor--
Let me soon enjoy a healthy, strong baby.
Yahweh, do not now recall
All my sins and missteps in life!
Forgive me and pardon me now
For all my failings before you.
In your compassion and mercy, may it be your will
That I give life to a precious new being.
Preserve my life, and be with me,
For all my hope and trust rests in you. Amen.
