Does an empowering birth change you all at once?  Or does it do so incrementally?  Pulling back layers as time goes on, exposing truths– behaving more like a well-cultivated seed than an instant shift?   Abigail Pyle is wife to her husband Jeff, and a stay-at-home mom of five very energetic and delightful children ages 10-2 years. She is navigating homeschool and parenting on the Central Coast of California with lots of prayers for wisdom, grace and humility! Through her five unique homebirths, she has become very passionate about sharing with women about what a gift birth was meant to me!    Today we’ll get to hear how Abigail’s experiences have unfolded over time, and the beautiful growth that she has undergone.   Episode Roundup: And really harkening back to the question I asked at the beginning of this episode– Abigail shares how her birth experience did not overhaul who she was in one instant.  I’m sure that it did, actually in many ways, but in connection with her perspective, her spiritual life, and beliefs about herself— Abigail’s first birth was a seed planted.  Over time and through very different births, that seed was watered, cultivated, and grown to fruit.  We see this fruition in her most recent birth where, one week after her due date, she is so ready to meet her baby that she has completely relinquished all fear of how her baby will be born.  Back labor again?  Who cares.  She was fearless and ready to surrender to the process of birth. And that leads me to this second point– surrender and submission.  Abigail said something so beautiful that had me thinking about this idea.  The more we are able to surrender to our Creator, the more HE will work and do.  Here we are circling around the concept she brought up about laboring to rest.  We labor, yes, but we MUST rest.  We must submit.  We must surrender so that he can bring about the bounty that he desires to bring about.  If we continually labor whether physically or metaphorically in our own strength, there will be so much less of a harvest.  But the more we submit, the more we trust, the more we open our hands to the experience that HE has for us… the more we get to enjoy his great abundance. And finally, Abigail touched on something that I think is such a tangible reminder: You don’t have to experience the negative birth before you plan for the positive homebirth.  This is your permission slip.  Give it a try, let the Lord bless you however your birth unfolds.  Let the seeds be planted.   Links:  Happy Homebirth Academy | happyhomebirth.thrivecart.com/happy-homebirth-academy-checkout/ Notify for WMHB Pre Sale! | interviewwithkatelyn.my.canva.site/notifypresalelink Youtube | https://youtu.be/ahv7--6Yfms Blueshield | blushield.com/homebirth (use code HOMEBIRTH for 18% off of your order today!) Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)