Letting God Finish our Masterpieces
Mar 12, 2018
By Stephanie Francom
I could tell by the look in her eyes—it wasn’t good news.
After hours and hours of hard labor with my fourth child, my midwife broke the news: I hadn’t even begun to dilate. In fact, my cervix wasn’t fully effaced. Seriously?
I wanted to cry.
With my previous pregnancies, I had felt like I had at least some control. I had figured out that if I wanted to get my contractions moving, I just had to pace. All over the house. And it worked!
I have proof:
-
Baby #1 – I arrived at the hospital dilated to a 7.
-
Baby #2 – Dilated to a 6.
-
Baby #3 – Dilated to a 5 (but the nurses let me pace around until I progressed to a 7).
So, Baby #4? I thought I had this in the bag.
Death by Castor Oil
Okay, full confession: I may or may not have tried to manipulate the timeline a little. I was worried my husband would miss the birth if it didn’t happen that weekend, so… I took castor oil.
Here’s your friendly PSA: DON’T. EVER. TAKE. CASTOR. OIL. Just don’t.
Let’s just say the “effects” were brutal. But labor-wise? It was like being hit with Pitocin. Hard, fast contractions—with zero progress.
What Now?
So here I was, hearing that nothing had changed. My go-to method—walking through the pain—wasn’t working. And we’d already tried all my midwife’s tricks.
Suddenly, I needed serious labor support, and I felt ridiculous. Like something was wrong with me. I was doing everything I knew how to do, and nothing was happening.
I gave myself about 30 seconds to grieve the plan that wasn’t working… and then I surrendered.
I realized: I can’t force this. I can’t control it. I can only choose how I respond.
If I was going to be at this for another 5–10 hours, the best thing I could do was rest. So I let go. We put on a movie (no memory of what it was), and I laid down on the couch.
Now, lying down has always been the most painful way for me to labor. But somehow… it felt like the right thing to do.
Time to Give Up?
Let me pause here. During my pregnancy, my midwife told me something interesting: “When you start to feel like you’re completely done—like you want to give up and go home—it usually means you’re in transition.”
Okay, back to the story.
I laid on that couch for about 45 minutes, breathing through miserable contractions. It took everything in me not to jump up and try to “make things happen.” But I already knew that pushing harder wasn’t working.
Eventually, I stood up to go to the bathroom and—WHAM. I had a contraction so intense I thought I might collapse. I was exhausted, emotional, and done. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be done with the whole thing.
And then I remembered: Wait a second… didn’t my midwife say this might mean I’m in transition?
I asked her to check me. She seemed hesitant, but agreed. And the second she checked me, her face changed.
I was at 9 centimeters.
The baby arrived just 15 minutes later.
Letting Go
Isn’t it fascinating? How often do we try to control everything? We want it to happen now. We want the pain to stop now. We want answers now.
But it wasn’t until I let go of my timing and gave it to God that anything actually progressed. And when it did? It was faster than ever before. By a LOT.
God did more in 45 minutes of surrender than I could’ve done in hours of effort.
Painting Your Masterpiece
Here’s the thing—we’re all in the middle of creating something. A dream, a goal, a life. And if you’re like me, it’s hard to step away from the canvas. You worry that if you’re not hovering over every detail, the painting won’t ever be finished.
Turns out, that belief of mine needed to be challenged.
That birth experience was a turning point for me. It made me wonder:
-
Do we really make things happen?
-
Are we just one part of the equation?
-
Could we be resisting divine timing when we try to do everything our way?
Be Still and Know That I am God
Can I share my takeaway?
We don’t have to do it all. We don’t have to make everything happen. We don’t have to be everything to everyone. We don’t even have to run faster than we have strength.
We give our best effort, then step back—and trust.
When we surrender, when we’re still, we give space for God to step in.
And in that stillness, that pause, the finishing touches are made—not by us, but by the Master Artist Himself. And somehow, in the end, the masterpiece becomes everything it was meant to be.
Perfect. Beautiful. Complete.
Author Stephanie Francom is a Rare Faith Certified Mentor and Genius Bootcamp Facilitator. Join Stephanie for our next Genius Bootcamp – Click here to learn more.
_________________
- To discover how to start choosing more effectively now, read The Jackrabbit Factor (FREE!)
- If you want more step-by-step guidance on creating the life you really want, join me in the Mindset Mastery program.
- If you want my help overcoming that giant obstacle right in front of you, learn more and sign up for Genius Bootcamp.