When Jason and I were living in Africa, God birthed a passion in me that has grown ever since. And “birthed” is a good word for it, because the burden that God was cultivating in my heart was consistently for pregnant women, new moms and their beautiful little babies. As we traveled in Africa and ministered to different people, I realized how drawn I’d become to the idea of empowering women through education and support as they experienced pregnancy, birth and motherhood. I had no idea what this would mean for me at the time, but I knew I wanted to be able to minister to women in a more supportive role someday. I also knew that I felt the need to be more educated–qualified, even, in order to provide the level of care and support that would meet such a pertinent need in impoverished, under-resourced and/or isolated communities.
Soon, I started praying about what this kind of ministry needed to look like. I put words to my developing passion to try to define it better for myself–words like educate, support, encourage, nurture, compassion. I thought about what tools I’d want to equip women with as expectant and new mothers, and landed on topics including nutrition, hygiene, post-partum care and self-worth. And then, as silly as it may seem, I started Googling combinations of these scattered pieces to determine how on earth I was going to merge my passions together.
I discovered the term “doula” for the first time when we lived in Johannesburg. To begin with, I had no idea what the word was–and I certainly didn’t know how to pronounce it. Somehow, with every search, “doula” kept coming up; I quickly learned that by definition, the word “doula” comes from the ancient Greek meaning “a woman who serves.” Today, it is used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and spiritual support to a mother before, during and just after birth. A doula is also someone who may provide emotional and practical postpartum support after baby is born.
The more I read and learned about the role of a doula, the more alive I felt about the idea of becoming one. I shared the possibility with friends over dinner one night, and the very next day, they contacted me and offered to bless me with the books and tools I’d need to get my certification rolling. This was a huge affirmation and confirmation to me that I was on the right track–the books I needed were all American titles that would be quite costly to purchase and ship overseas on our tight missionary budget. I was completely humbled by the offer, but agreed to move forward. I still remember the day that they handed me the first box of titles, all new and ready for me to devour over the weeks and months to come.
When we returned from Africa, I was able to take advantage of the jumpstart I’d gotten during our time there. I read more, had more conversations and eventually, enrolled in the necessary courses to begin the doula certification process. This past spring and summer, I had the privilege of assisting and observing three births for certification, and then found out that we would be expecting a bundle of our very own.
Everything on this journey has fallen into place in such unique timing–and I can’t ignore the ways that God has woven this path together for me. As a doula, I have learned so much from a scientific and/or fact-based perspective, but more than that, I have continued to grow in my fascination and appreciation for the incredible way that our bodies have been created to grow precious, tiny, perfect human beings. Life is not only a miracle, but an opportunity to appreciate our Creator and the precise nature of Creation in its every detail. It is thrilling to become so taken with the most natural process we could ever experience, and it is humbling to be a part of such a monumental event in the lives of others.
I can only begin to imagine how incredible it will be to participate in the miracle ourselves in such a short time. I am in awe of God’s timing, of the journey I’ve been on, and of the ways that I pray I will be used to help usher life into this world in the days ahead.
grateful to be called as hands and feet, and eager to grow as a woman who serves,
mm
