Such a Short Road to Travel (A Poem About Birth)

I lie awakeCalculating the distance From womb to the world. It is such a short road to travel. You are nearly here, Less than arms-length away There is but the patient openingOf one long-awaited flowerThe quiet mechanicsOf one perfectly-crafted keyTurning in the lock of my bodyAnd moving through Blood and water ring of fireLife and…

Living by Faith

About a month ago, we found out that I am expecting again. This will be five children in 7 years. (I’m sure many of you reading this are having a gut reaction.) It means that I have been pregnant or nursing now nonstop since early 2007. It is a lot to take in. It is…

The Daily Turn #7: Human

After a long day ofrealizing I am human–Meeting and failing to meetneeds that rise likeGreat ocean wavesand fall and break andpull everything underwith a force that coulddrown you.How insignificant I seem,standing in their wake–looking out fromthe blistering shoreto where the golden horizondrops off the edge of the world.You could never swim there if you tried….

Remy Lochlan Chester, A Birth Story

Minutes after Rosie, our first child was born, the first and most prevailing thought in my head was, “I can never do this again.” God is so merciful.  And by his grace, I was able to do it again.  And again. And last week, our fourth child, Remy Lochlan Chester was born into this world….

Family Love, A Study in Mathematics

People keep asking me if we are going to have more children.  The question ranks up there–probably around number 4–on the list of my daily-smalltalk-with-a-pregnant-woman chart.  {(1)”How much longer?”( 2) “How are you feeling?”  (3)”Are you so ready to have that baby…?” topping the chart…}  The top three questions are easy to answer.  {(1)”I have…