The Journey of Childbirth
by Drenda Keesee
Something was missing.
After having 5 children myself, attending more than 50 births, and seeing miracle after miracle happen through the journey of pregnancy and childbirth, I KNEW something was missing.
Sure, there are books and resources on pregnancy and childbirth available everywhere. Just look at your local bookstore or search online. You can easily find plenty of options—from those filled with medical jargon and week-by-week calendars of what to expect to those that aim to be more down-to-earth and humorous, and plenty that fall in the middle.
But something was missing.
Where were the books on how to prepare spiritually for pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum?
Where were the books that shared how to stand on God’s Word and conquer impossibilities and problems that may arise in a woman’s journey to motherhood?
Where were the books that told women that becoming a mother would be the most incredible, spiritual, life-changing thing they would ever experience?
That was what was missing in nearly all of the resources available—faith-building spiritual insight to encourage women on their journeys through pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum.
That’s why I wrote…
I’m no healthcare professional. But I am a mom, and pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood are areas I am very passionate about. I have attended hospital births and home births, been there for breech births and cesarean sections, and coached first-time moms, mothers of eight or more children, and my own daughters and daughter-in-love through the beautiful experience of pregnancy and childbirth.
Through the years, I’ve also counseled numerous women as they faced infertility, pregnancy complications, high-risk deliveries, and postpartum issues—and I’ve seen them all come through with flying colors!
I’ve learned SO many things, but above all, that NOTHING is impossible with God.
That’s what I most wanted women to know and THE very best reason for writing The Know-how Book on Birth—to encourage and inspire them and give them a place to turn to for answers on how to do childbirth God’s way.
There’s nothing out there like The Know-how Book on Birth.
There are so many questions, concerns, misconceptions, and so much confusion out there, it can be downright overwhelming for women who want to get pregnant, are trying to get pregnant, or who are pregnant. (And don’t forget all of the horror stories, the well-meaning “advice,” and wives’ tales we hear about pregnancy, delivery, and motherhood! Good grief!)
But there are no resources available that combine the knowledge and information about the physical aspects of pregnancy and delivery with the spiritual aspects of faith and the emotional aspects of walking out this journey of motherhood.
Until now.
The Know-how Book on Birth gives women access to BOTH the natural wisdom AND the supernatural principles from the Word of God they need so they can properly prepare and be successful in their own unique ways on their very personal journeys to motherhood.
Because here’s the thing: if you’ve prepared physically and conditioned yourself spiritually to stand strong, it won’t matter what obstacles you face.
Believe me, I know!
When my husband, Gary, and I found out I was expecting our first baby about a year into our marriage, we were overjoyed…and terrified. Me? A mother?
Being the good student that I always was, I devoured every book I could find on the subjects of pregnancy, delivery, and nursing. I signed us up for Lamaze class. And I started praying more than I probably ever had before. I studied birthing and educated myself on the options. I also had a friend who was a nurse, and she shared many of the experiences she had had with uncooperative doctors, unnecessary interventions, and studies in other countries where they have much better birth statistics than in the U.S.
I was also in a good church and surrounded myself with God’s Word concerning childbirth. We prayed for a healthy baby, and I stood on the Word for nine months. I wrote down Scriptures about faith, childbirth, and the blessing a child is. I put them on index cards and would read them every day.
I was prepared. I had my ideal birth plan written out. I knew what I wanted and what I didn’t want.
Then labor happened, and everything didn’t go the way I had planned it.
After 13 hours of labor, the nurse told me things weren’t progressing and they were considering a cesarean section delivery.
Fear tried to grip my heart immediately, and I cried out to God. For a brief moment, I actually thought, “I don’t care. Just get it out. I want this baby.”
But then something inside of me rose up because of all the spiritual and mental conditioning I had done, and I cried out to God to help my unbelief and give me grace and mercy.
I was able to regain my confidence, and things progressed immediately. But to the very end, I had to fight my doctor for what I believed God for. Thankfully, because I had conditioned myself spiritually, I was able to stand strong on the promises of God.
That’s what I want for every woman who is planning to get pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or who is pregnant—to know that nothing is impossible with God, and to have the strength to stand strong on the unique things she is believing God for.
~Drenda
ps…Are you looking for a good church? Be sure and listen on Saturday evening or catch the 3 services on Sunday for Faith Life Church!
*Excerpt from “The New Vintage Family” by Drenda Keesee
Drenda Keesee’s contagious zeal and humorous personal experiences help make her ministry of spiritual, emotional, and relational wholeness one that will bless your life and spark a new fire in your spirit.
A wife of over 30 years and a mother of five children, Drenda has ministered at churches, seminars, and conferences, and through the mediums of television and radio, for more than 20 years.
Her books, The New Vintage Family, Better Than You Think, and She Gets It are available wherever books are sold. In these heartfelt books, Drenda shares her personal journey and the life lessons that have brought her to where she is today, as well as practical answers that all people need to live a joyful life.
Drenda and her husband Gary founded Faith Life Now, a ministry designed to spread the message of freedom in the areas of finances, faith, marriage, and family. Tune in for their weekly messages here. Faith Life Now hosts conferences worldwide and sponsors both Fixing the Money Thing, which Drenda co-hosts with her husband Gary and Drenda.
Through their own life experiences, the Keesee’s have found the principles from God’s Word to be powerful and effective. At one point, Drenda was a young, suicidal feminist with no hope of ever being “good enough” for her own standards of perfection. She never wanted the “inconvenience” of a husband or children, and she was on her own path to success. But the stress of trying to achieve perfection and perform for love left her broken and used. She had success, but it was nothing compared to the pain and loneliness it had also brought.
That’s when God got a hold of her heart. It was there—at her lowest point—that she found the One who accepted and loved her, faults and all. Since that transformation, Drenda has had a passion to reach women who find themselves where she once was.
She married Gary after attending college, and there she found herself in a personal boot camp of sorts. She says, “I cried and told God, ‘I can do anything but be a wife and mother.’” She committed to learning how to do it God’s way. Through the many years of raising their children and struggling to make ends meet, Drenda learned from their mistakes. “I didn’t know how to be a wife and mother, but God saved our marriage, taught us how to parent our children for success, showed us how to have financial success, and then the irony of all ironies, He called us to ministry.” It’s truly because of these life experiences that Drenda can now share so many insightful principles for people who are now going through the same struggles.