Episode 68 - "mothering" with gentleness and self control

The God fearing Hebrew Midwives who "mothered" women in labor to help build a nation

Transcript

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This little light of mine. I'm gonna let it shine. Hello and welcome back to Shine. I am your host, Nicole Florence. Not as many birds as I had to move locations in my household today. Okay. So we've been talking about just being a mother, not necessarily a mother who has given birth, but how we are really purposed to mother each other, whether it is as an auntie or an adoptive mother or a neighbor or a I call it a work mother, all those ways that we, especially as women, have been given the special gifts through the fruit of the spirit to be these nurturers and mothers to all. We talked a little bit yesterday about creating that space between ourselves and others to allow the spirit to enter in and to guide us. And I wanted to pivot a little bit and talk more about those moments that we have where we can truly show a level of self-control and gentleness. And I think about the story in Exodus about the midwives. You know, you all know of the story of Shipra and Pua, who were the midwives, Hebrew midwives, who were likely, you know, called at all times of the night or times of the day to help the Hebrew women birth their children. You know, there weren't necessarily physicians and hospitals, and these women probably had those, you know, wonderful gifts of calmness, of gentleness, as well as that self-control when was needed for a woman who was scared and in pain. And I haven't even you know talked about the complex nature of I don't know if I'm having a boy or a girl, but I do know that the king has decreed that if I have a son, that that son is to be killed. Um as you know, this royal decree to prevent any challenge to his uh kingdom. So I couldn't imagine just the complexities of going through birth, let alone wondering if your child was going to be allowed to live if it was a boy or a girl. So I imagine these two midwives and their calming nature, their way to help women who were birthing get through this difficult situation. But then, of course, we know they decided to defy the king, right? Their faithfulness put them in a posture that they feared God more than they did the king. And so they made the decision that if a boy was born, they were going to allow that child to live. I couldn't imagine a woman going through birth and finding out it was indeed a boy, and for one of those midwives to say to her, I fear God more than I do the king, and I am going to allow your baby boy to live. Now, of course, we know that the king found out, and I love how in their brilliance, we don't know which one said it, although pua actually means radiant light as well as brilliant, said one of them or both of them said, you know, these Hebrew women, they are not like your Egyptian women, and they are very vigorous in birth, you know, almost letting the king know, hey, these women are healthy, and I get to the point where I'm not there. They birth um so quickly due to their vigorous and healthy nature, that we are not there when these children are born, so we don't know if they are uh a boy or a girl. I mean, to think so quickly on your feet in a way that knowing this could right be their demise, the king could very quickly, you know, say to them, I don't believe you, I don't trust you, and I'm going to put you in prison or or kill you. Um, but for them to be so incredibly smart and quick on their feet to come up with that was just brilliant. And so, of course, the king had to go through a different way to figure out how to do away with um the young boys that were born, and as we know, he said they were to be thrown in the Nile, and of course, we know, yes, Moses was quote unquote thrown in the Nile. So, because of Pua and Shepra, we know that the Israelites became numerous. There were so many that were born due to their mothering nature of these young women, of these women who were in the midst of birthing, that because of these two, and their self-control, their gentleness, their faithfulness to God, they mothered these women in a way that was an alignment with the fruit of the Spirit and their purpose. And we know God rewarded them with families of their own. So they weren't even women who had children of their own, yet they nurtured and mothered all of these women through their labor and through the complexities of the situation at that time. So I think about how you and I will come up against situations of others who are in extremely stressful and complex situations, but through our gifts and through the spirit, with a level of gentleness, with a level of self-control, um, patience, peace, all of that. They may not be our children, so to speak, but it is that mothering nature through the fruit of the spirit that we have been given, that we can in fact nurture and mother others. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.