How would you feel if everyone around you, including the medical staff you’ve met with, says you shouldn’t have another baby– but you and your spouse suddenly feel very strongly that you’re being called to…. Have another baby?  What would you do?    This week we’re speaking to Jess, a mother who had to make this difficult sounding decision.  Should we grow our family in the face of adversity? You’re going to love this story, I just know it.   Episode Roundup: So if you listened to my re-introduction story, you’ll notice that the exact same themes that I spoke about– About hearing God’s voice and leaning into what he’s saying even when it sounds, frankly, illogical– were present here in Jess’s story.  She and her husband Grant both felt and overwhelming peace and need to have their third child, despite their well-meaning community’s pleas for them to reconsider.  I find so much comfort in this ability to hear something clearly coming from somewhere outside of yourself, and to put your faith in what you are sensing.  This is so deeply connected to intuition.  Mothers KNOW what to do– whether that’s the intuitive knowledge that everything is okay and they’re doing exactly what they need to be doing even when the situation looks questionable, OR when things seem fine, but a mother knows something is not fine and needs more attention.  What a beautiful gift. Next, let’s talk about the healing power of birth– Birth can bring healing beyond just yourself or your spouse.  In this story, we hear how Jess’s third birth acted as a soothing balm to their oldest daughter, Willow, who had experienced such pain during the traumatic hospital stay and birth of her baby brother.   And that point brings me to my last point.  We were designed to heal.  We were designed to heal both physically, and emotionally.  How beautiful is it to hear this story– were Jess’s body, which was spoken over so negatively– that it wouldn’t be able to have a healthy pregnancy and birth again, that it was incapable of the pregnancy and labor processes— it healed and it experienced new life.  Along with physical healing, Jess and her entire family experienced emotional and spiritual healing.  How amazing that we have been designed with so many opportunities to grow, to rewire, to renew our thoughts.  This family did just that, and what a joy it was to listen to how it unfolded.    Links: Samaritan Ministries Happy Homebirth Academy Interview Application Youtube Link