Round Ligament Pain

The title of this post may lead one to believe it should belong in my blog for pregnant women, Your Labor Room, but it does not.

Round ligament pain is an extremely painful condition which affects some pregnant women starting about 28-30 weeks in their pregnancy and lasting until about 35 or 36 weeks.  It is caused by the tightening and pulling of the round ligaments which run along each side of the uterus.  Some women experience this and some women never do.

I never experienced round ligament pain with my first two pregnancies, but with my third I not only had it, but was shocked at the intensity of pain this caused.  I have often joked that I should apologize to all the patients I had before that third pregnancy because I wasn't nearly empathetic enough with them.

Since experiencing this pain, I have been able to not only have true empathy with my patients, but to teach them from a place I never could before.

Our Lord suffered and was "in all points tempted  like as we are, yet without sin," (Hebrews 4:15.)  There is no temptation, no trial, no suffering we can encounter which He has not felt.  Therefore, He has the ability to comfort us, to teach us and to lead us in a way none other could ever possibly have.  

In our times of trial, our times of temptation, in pain and suffering, let us look "unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God," (Hebrews 12:2.)  He alone truly knows our pain, our dilemmas and our moments of temptation.

The God of All Comfort

2 Corinthians 1:3

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, 

and the God of all comfort;"

I love my bed.

My bed is the type that can be as soft or as firm as one would like.  I prefer it to be soft and squishy.

I love my pillows.  One is downy-soft and the other is a perfect combination of firmness and pliability.  I don't know what it is made of to give it such a great blend of two opposing adjectives, but it is my favorite.

I love my soft, fluffy blanket which is toasty warm in the winter but not hot in the summer.

All this combines to offer a complete feeling of comfort.

But where does comfort truly originate from?  From God.  Our Father is the source of all true comfort.  This means my wonderfully comfortable bed is somehow a gift to me and an expression of God's love and comfort.


In some way, every time we experience comfort, or are comforted by someone else, we are experiencing that comfort which comes from our Heavenly Father.  When we minister comfort to someone else, it is our Lord's comfort we are sharing.

This should change our attitude to our moments of comfort.  Let us use them as an opportunity of thanksgiving and praise to the One who is the "God of all comfort," and the Giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift."

2 Corinthians 1: 3,4

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;  

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

James 1:17

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

HId With Christ in God

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My husband and I have often pondered the thought if we were on a deserted island, who would we most want with us.  We both add the same person to our list, our son Noah.

If I had to hide somewhere, or to survive somewhere, I would certainly want to do it with our son, who is a Force Reconnaissance Marine. He knows the secrets of stealth, of navigation and survival.  I have great confidence in his abilities to safely see us through almost any situation.

As Christians, we are hidden.  The Scriptures say that "your life is hid with Christ in God,"(Colossians 3:3.)  If we are hidden with Christ, in God, could we be any safer?  Is there any need which is not provided?  Is there any problem He does not know?

A person hides something that is precious to them.  Our Lord has hidden us in the most-protected, safest, most secure place possible, in Himself with the Lord Jesus.  He has hidden us with His most precious Son. We should take great comfort in that.  

No matter what situations befall us, the truth of the matter, and the truth we should affirm by faith, is that we are hid with Christ in God.  No one, no matter how powerful, can touch us there.  

Matthew 10:28

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Cinnamon Rolls

The other day my husband was making homemade cinnamon rolls.  They were fragrant, fluffy and fat.  While he was making the filling, which called for three tablespoons of cinnamon, he stopped to check the recipe.

"That's way too much cinnamon," he thought.  But trying this recipe for the first time, he decided to put in the whole amount.  Thankfully, the recipe called for brown sugar and white sugar as well.  Once cooked, the amount of cinnamon had been just perfect.

Cinnamon is an interesting spice.  It is wonderful baked in things, but by itself it is extremely bitter.  It has an edgy bite that I find unpleasant.  Combine the cinnamon with sugar, and especially with sugar and butter, and you have something extremely delectable.

Our words are like that.

They can be harsh, bitter and edgy if we don't take effort that they are also "with grace."   We have all perhaps had someone say something harsh to us that we have remembered perhaps for years and years.  It seems those things stay with us so much longer than the sweet things, don't they?

The Apostle Paul in both Ephesians and Colossians spoke of what comes out of our mouths.  

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Ephesians 4:29"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." Colossians 4:6

Just as our cinnamon rolls needed the sugar along with the cinnamon, let us be careful that our speech ministers grace to our hearers.  Even if we must say something that is hard to hear, let us not utter it with a hardness of heart, but let us be meek, kind and tenderhearted.  

May our own words coming back to us be a joy and not a sorrow.