Delivering Love

Low in the womb He lay.
His movements have slowed.
Positioned and ready.
Life ready to be birthed.
Mother's breathing labors.
Abdomen walls grow taut, stretched tight.
Muscles twinge, relax, squeeze, contract.
Intensity increases more rapidly.
"Not here, not now."
She thinks back over these gestational months.
The disbelief, the stares, the heartache of rejection.
But the joy!
She recalls each blessed stage.
That first wave of nausea that confirmed suspicion.
The cravings that substantiated faith.
That surreal first flutter.
An elbow poking mid-section -- from the inside.
The tickle of hiccups.
The long talks, and hopes, and prayers.
The giddiness, apprehension, fear.
Exuberation!
And now, pain!
You groan to deliver.
You hold that hard globe steady from the jostling ride.
Holding him in -- trying to delay the inevitable for a more convenient time.
But the time had fully come.
"We must wait until we can reach a place to rest."
Wave upon incredible wave, a body on sensory overload.
Wanting to go back and forward both at the same time.
"I must lie down."
Knees too weak to stand; back too cramped to straighten.
You must deliver He who will deliver you....
...the world.
Husband gives aid, he lovingly comforts and coaches along.
You finally lay, weary, upon a bed of straw.
What to do?
What now?
Crowned and straining forward.
Light pushed toward light.
At last!
Gazes meet at last!
The One whose known you forever meets you at last.
The child you've held for months is finally cradled in your arms.
Thoughts of travel, labor, location all vanish.
All you know is love.
All you see is Love.