Learning to Unlearn

An exert from In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.

"Almost like a hard drive with a computer virus, our minds have infected files.  Irrational fears and misconceptions keep us from operating the way we were designed to.  And if those fears and misconceptions aren't installed, they undermine everything we do.

Half of learning is learning.  The other half of learing is unlearning.  Unfortunately, unlearning is twice as hard as learning.  It's like missing your exit on the freeway.  You have to drive to the next exit and then double back.  Every mile you go in the wrong direction is really a two-mile error.  Unlearning is twice as hard, and it often takes twice as long.  It is harder to get old thoughts out of you rmind than it is to get new thoughts into your mind.

That is the challenge Jesus faced, isn't it?

If you study the teachings of Christ, you'll realize that learning wasn't His primary goal.  His primary goal was unlearning.  He was reverse engineering religious minds.  And those can be the toughest minds to change.  That is why two phrases are repearted over andover again in the Sermon on the Mount.

'You have heard that is was said...'
'But I tell you...'

What was Jesus saying and doing?  He was uninstalling Old Testament concepts and upgrading then with New Testament truths.

'You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'  But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person.  If someone strikes you on the cheek, turn to him the other also.'  Matthew 5:38-39

...Half of spiritual growth is learning what we don't know.  The other half is unlearning what we do know.  And it is the failure to unlearn irrational fears and misconceptions that keep us from becoming who God wants us to be."

I related this to my fears of labor.  I had a lot of fear tied up in pain and the unknown.  It took me while to even recognize the fear that I was holding on to.  But once I did, God was able to reprogram my mind to trust Him and depend upon His understanding. 

I also find this true in my spiritual walk as well.  There were many concepts and 'rules' that I had to unlearn.  Being a christian is really simple.  Love God with all your heart and love others the same.  But sometimes we over complicate things, because of our humanity.  We make up "rules", because it makes us feel secure. When we should be finding our security in Christ and not "laws".   

I heart Birthing Classes!

Yesterday was the last session of our birthing classes and I am so sad!  I really wanted them to last forever.  I really enjoyed the classes and especially the people, a lot more than I anticipated I would.  I learned so much in those classes.  Our instructor was Brenda Minica.  She is a birthing class instructor/educator and a doula.  You can find her website here, along with all her information.  She lives near Floresville off of Hwy 181.  I HIGHLY recommend everyone to take her birthing classes.  Especially if you are a first time parent-to-be. 

Brenda is a Christian for one.  So, all of our study and discussions were Christ-centered.  This is something that Noah and I were looking for and God has definitely blessed her with this as a ministry.  I know we felt ministered to as well as educated on pregnancy, labor, and baby care. 

We went through why we fear labor.  The fact that there is no need to fear anything, just trust in God.  We discussed where these fears could have come from, in order to tackle the real problem.  We talked about how Satan is the father of lies and fear, so we know any fear is a lie and is not of God.  As a christian we all know these Truths, but it is important to REALLY KNOW these Truths.  Do you understand what I'm saying?  We need to repeat the Truths of God to ourselves, write them on our hearts, live like we believe them!  This is something that I definitely needed to hear in order to truly give my fears to God.  I needed to let go!

It is not just fear we talked about.  But we learned so much information on the labor process and what to expect.  She even talked about the physiological side of it.  Which of course I love being a Biology major.  I always understand better and feel more confident when I know what is physiologically going on in my body.  It really helps me to relax more and let my body do what it needs to do to in order to get the job done.  Just her explaining the three different layers of the uterus and what they each do in labor helped me so much, I can't even explain.  I know that sounds weird for those of you who aren't science nerds like me.  But this helped me A LOT!

Our confidence going into labor has sky-rocketed and our fears have decreased significantly.  I know I wrote a blog about all the things I was fearful of, so y'all know what I was struggling with.  And through discussions, prayer, and scripture reading I feel that my fears have all but erased.  I feel God's peace about it all.  I have always had God's peace with having our baby at home, but now I have God's peace for the actually labor.  Which were to different things for me.  And there is no peace like God's peace!  Those of you who have experienced God's "perfect peace" (Isaiah 26:3) know what I mean when I say that.

I can't even tell you how much we learned through this whole process.  To me knowledge is power.  And I have gained so much knowledge about labor, my body, baby, and so on.  I definitely feel equipped to have this baby!  We feel like God has given us a huge toolbox of tools to use.  Like, so many tools we actually have options of tools to use.  I am so thankful for Him for bringing us to Brenda and for her obedience to God to do these classes.  This is a wonderful ministry that is sure to bless whoever attend.

One of the things Brenda said is that with everyone of her pregnancies/labor God has given her a scripture that has given her peace and trust in Him.  I had not found my scripture for this labor until last night.  When I read it, I just knew that God was speaking directly to me about this labor.  Here is the verse:

"There was also Benaniah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel.  He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two of Moab's mightiest warriors.  Another time he chases a lion down into a pit.  Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it.  Another time, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear.  Benaniah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it."  2 Samuel 23:20-21

Some, of you may be really confused how this is suppose to help me.  But I will explain all of that in the next blog!!  Stay tuned!