When we were in Texas at my in-laws house, there were multiple pregnant cows on the ranch about to have their babies. It was a very exciting time because every morning we would wake-up wondering if we would see a new calf that day. We drove around the herd looking at all the mamas with their bellies sticking out wide on both sides guessing when each one was going to give birth.

Oh, how I felt for those large cows. It was the middle of August with a heat index of about 110 pretty much every day. Even in the shade, I was dripping sweat. These cows would just sit under a tree while laboring and wait for their calf to arrive.

I found it so interesting that cows don’t really make any noises when they are in labor. They pretty much just sit there and sometimes stand up. I was watching a cow we named Pearl while she was in labor. Every now and then she would breathe heavy or make a small grunt, but for the most part, she was silent. Amazing.

She really just took the pain. Chewed it up like it was cud in her mouth. Now, I have only given birth once, but I don’t think I could ever do it silently. But watching Pearl be in labor and just take it made it seem so natural. It was like she had come to terms with this pain. Accepted it as a friend and just let it happen. I know she is just a cow, but I felt like she looked so confident in what her body was doing.

Before I gave birth, I had so many people tell me that my body was made to do this. I always smiled and said thanks but didn’t think too much of what it really meant. Like of course it is? Why would I think any differently? But when the contractions started rolling in, I understood. The contractions hurt and every time one hit, I just wanted it to end. I knew this was how my baby was going to come out of me so it’s not like I wanted to stop labor, but every time I contracted, I just tensed up. Almost like I was fighting it.

Everything I read about enduring labor and having a natural birth told me not to do that. All the advice said to try to relax your muscles during contractions and not tense up. Ha ha. Way easier said than done. Isn’t that how it is with any pain? You try your hardest to not let it get to you. You clench every muscle you can to avoid fulling feeling the pain. Both physically and emotionally.

When emotional pain creeps in, I try my hardest to avoid it. I don’t want to feel grief or sorrow or heartbreak. I want joy and peace. Don’t we all? These negative emotions that inevitably enter our hearts can not be avoided. No matter how tightly we clench our fists, the pains of this world will seep into us. But that is not a bad thing.

I think Pearl really showed me that accepting and sitting with pain is helpful. I think Paul also wrote that.

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)

Paul is saying to sit there and take it. Don’t fight the pain. Accept it because that is where Jesus meets us. Our weaknesses, our pain, our suffering is where we see the strength, goodness, and provision of God. His grace is what need to get through the pain.

Because of who Jesus is and what He has done, we don’t have to tense up when struggles come around. We can trust in the power He holds to walk us through it. We can trust that the pain will have purpose.

I don’t want to fight the pain or trouble I face. I want to accept it with the knowledge that God sees me there. He strengthens us in our hardships. When I am feeling weak, when I am fighting pain, He comes to take it from me. He tells me to relax because He is in control.

When Pearl sat there silently waiting on the pain to end, but allowing it to happen, I was amazed. I think when we as Christians do as Paul said and delight in the struggles, we will amaze people too. Boasting about our weaknesses reveals the strength of Christ. I want my life to be a picture of God’s strength, to exemplify that He is bigger than the pain of this world. I want others to see the Lord working through me in my struggles.