All In God’s Perfect Timing: A Story of My Second Pregnancy and Birth

Written By: Clarice Hielema

May 19th, 2026

The story of my pregnancy and birth with my son is one of God’s perfect timing and sovereignty. I went through a whirlwind of emotions this pregnancy, and yet God was always there working all things together for mine and my son’s ultimate good. I feel like I could write a book about everything I learned and how this journey has challenged and grown me as a woman of God. So let’s start at the very beginning.

July 2nd, 2025 was the day that I found out I had a miscarriage. It was definitely the most emotional day of my life. I was 6 weeks pregnant and began experiencing mild bleeding that led to heavy bleeding and terrible cramps lasting over a week. My husband came right home from work the day I found out, and we grieved together over the loss of our precious baby that we had so desired to meet. We clung to the truth that God’s ways are higher than ours, and He knew and loved that little life more than we ever could. It was a very difficult month for me with lots of tears. My husband and I were very eager to grow our family, and it was hard not having all the answers. During that time though, we humbled ourselves unto God, and we remembered that we can plan our ways, but ultimately the Lord directs our steps. We needed to submit to His plan for our family and trust Him moving forward. 

Praise God, I ended up finding out I was pregnant again on August 12th! I was shocked, excited, and nervous all at the same time. I had a much easier first trimester with my son than I did with my daughter, but despite feeling okay, I had a lot of fear surrounding the baby and my body. Having just gone through a miscarriage, I had anxious thoughts about the health of my baby, and I feared losing them more than anything. Prayer sustained me through that time, and by the grace of God, I progressed through pregnancy and baby was strong and healthy. A common theme of this pregnancy was uncertainty surrounding my due date, and this ended up being the biggest source of anxiety that I had to battle. Because I had a miscarriage and got pregnant before my cycle returned, my midwives and I had little to go off of as to when my cycle really returned or when conception may have occurred. We ended up basing my due date off of the day I began bleeding with my miscarriage, and April 9th was the day I began looking forward to. 

I went 40 weeks and 6 days with my first baby, so naturally I expected to go over again. I had so much fear in the decision of my due date, and I feared going so far “over” the perceived due date that I would seemingly exceed 42 weeks and have to seek medical intervention. I had a home birth with my first, and was planning for a second home birth, so I was fearful that my care would be transferred over to the hospital, and I would miss out on the opportunity to have another beautiful home birth. It sounds silly writing all this in retrospect, but I had so many breakdowns and sleepless nights because I so desperately wanted this baby to come soon, but in God’s timing. After 41 weeks, my midwives and I discussed transfer of care, we scheduled non-stress tests to determine the health of my placenta and baby, and we had an ultrasound scheduled for 41 weeks and 6 days. I began to be very anxious about when this baby would arrive, and I knew that there was nothing I could do but wait. It was during this time too that all the kind messages and check ins from friends and family also began to weigh heavily on me. I just wanted to be able to share the exciting news that I had my baby instead of explaining that I was still pregnant. I felt this self perceived pressure to go into labor. On Tuesday the 21st, I felt defeated and went into my backyard, where I sat myself at our picnic table and wrote a prayer to God on a piece of ripped out notebook paper. Through tears, I confessed my sin of not trusting God, I explained my fears and anxieties, I pleaded that I would get to meet my baby soon, and ultimately that God’s will would be done. Quite to my surprise, that night I woke up with strong contractions, and instead of dwindling, they got stronger and more persistent, and I was assured that I would meet my baby that day. My midwives were ecstatic, and we quickly cancelled my ultrasound for that afternoon. I labored in my living room amidst the beautiful sunrise and the peace and quiet of our home. My husband was by my side the whole time, massaging my back and keeping me hydrated and encouraged. I labored for 10 hours and I remember just trying to get through each contraction that came my way, and in between, praising God that I was in the position I was in. I was beyond grateful to be in labor and knew that God heard my prayers and always had this day in mind for the birth of my baby. I pushed my baby out in a mere 7 mins, and we got to meet our beautiful and healthy son. 

I have been reminiscing on my labor and delivery story since his birth on April 22nd, and it humbles me every time and just makes me in awe of God’s goodness and mercy. The whole way through, God knew the birth day of my son, and I didn’t need to fear the future. I wish I would have trusted God more and not let my fears overwhelm and discourage me. Pregnancy and birth are such a journey, and I want to encourage you to seek God through all the ups and downs and uncertainties. And if you’ve already given birth, revisit that day in your mind and try to see God’s hand in your story. I always say that it’s so much easier to see why something happened the way it did in retrospect, but faith is believing without seeing. This pregnancy and birth story is one that has grown my faith, trust, and dependence on the Lord. Looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Praise be to God who has all the days of ours and our children’s lives written in His book before we were ever born. 

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:16