Spirituality
“I hoped faith would be an epidural for pain. Turns out to be a midwife who says, ‘Push. I’m here. Sometimes it hurts. Dammit.’”
— Brené Brown
Reimagining Divine Power
My conception of God as a midwife emerged from my interconnected experiences with birth, religious trauma, and faith deconstruction. A few years ago I heard
Austin Channing Brown
differentiate how white churches and Black churches view God: “power over” versus “power with.” As a birth worker I well knew the impact of midwivesʼ power with clients, and in that moment something clicked for me…maybe God is a midwife too.
We all wish God could take our pain away, but so often that doesnʼt pan out and we’re left disoriented. But what if the issue isnʼt that God could intervene but doesnʼt, but that She isnʼt traditionally powerful? God the Midwife is honest about reality, making promises she can keep: “It’s going to hurt, and I wonʼt be able to stop it. But I’ll stay with you. You can do this.” A power over God quashes personal agency, but a power-together God develops our own power within.
I invite you to reimagine the Divine not as an omnipotent authority figure who can save the day, but as a midwife—someone who shows up, holds space, and offers guidance when needed, but ultimately trusts your innate capacity to bring forth new life. We think we need to be saved, but actually we need to be midwifed while we save ourselves.
BREAKING DOWN POWER
Explore the themes and questions at the heart of “Maybe God is a Midwife”
01
POWER OVER
This expression of power looks like protection, hierarchy, outsourcing, purity, and enforcement. At first blush it seems to come with some perks, but it is intended to inhibit your power with others and your power within. Power over only serves itself.
02
POWER TOGETHER
This expression of power looks like partnership, humanity, bearing witness, accompaniment, and solidarity. Unlike power over, it does not swoop in to save, but is WITH YOU in your hardship. It is presence, not relief. Power together is a gritty phenomenon that ripples outwards, encouraging power within, and serving beyond itself.
03
POWER WITHIN
This expression of power looks like ownership, agency, individuation, knowing, and self worth. Internal power asks difficult things of us, but it is the truest and most important power of all. Power over saves, power together midwifes, but power within births. Power within serves you, so you can save yourself.
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