Bringing my son forth in our own sacred space, in the very room where he was conceived, was incredible. I have told my husband since then, “We can never move away! Our son was born in this house. That room is sacred.” It’s amazing to me, now that I’ve experienced such an intimate birth, to imagine thousands of babies being born everyday in sterile, unfamiliar, factory-like hospital delivery rooms. Childbirth ought to sanctify its surroundings in the way my son’s birth sanctified my bedroom. Instead, delivery rooms must remove all traces of the birth that has occurred. Rather than sanctified, they are sterilized of the experience and made ready for the next fleeting inhabitants. God-willing, I intend to welcome all my future babies into our own home—a place that will grow more and more sacred with each miraculous welcome.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sacred place
Bringing my son forth in our own sacred space, in the very room where he was conceived, was incredible. I have told my husband since then, “We can never move away! Our son was born in this house. That room is sacred.” It’s amazing to me, now that I’ve experienced such an intimate birth, to imagine thousands of babies being born everyday in sterile, unfamiliar, factory-like hospital delivery rooms. Childbirth ought to sanctify its surroundings in the way my son’s birth sanctified my bedroom. Instead, delivery rooms must remove all traces of the birth that has occurred. Rather than sanctified, they are sterilized of the experience and made ready for the next fleeting inhabitants. God-willing, I intend to welcome all my future babies into our own home—a place that will grow more and more sacred with each miraculous welcome.
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4 comments:
I love this idea - it's something I've thought about a lot. And actually, I've seen women cry when touring a hospital where they birthed twenty years ago ... so I know that any place wherein something special happens can become personally sacred to us. But there's just no comparison between your own home - which is already sacred - and a hospital.
I hope I get to have the same intimate home experience someday!
Have you read the Anne of Green Gables series? I think it is in number 5 where they talk about a house not being a home until someone has died there and someone has been married there. The home we live in now has had both of those sacred experiences since we moved in. And our newest baby was born in our new house, even though we don't live there yet (!) because I wanted those memories to be there.
umm, that was supposed to be born, not married! Though I suppose that's good too. Sorry for not proofreading well enough.
I have to say, it was really hard to leave our last apartment where our daughter was born in the living room. I wanted to put a plaque on the wall, like a baby was born here! When you think about it, tons of babies were born in lots of old houses...I wonder how many in the house I grew up it?
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