5 minutes with Jodie

Tell us a little about you.

I’m a midwife, ministry worker and mother. I think I enjoy these roles all the more having them each in moderation, with such variety of activities during the week. I’ve also enjoyed writing a book which brought together all these different spheres, it’s called Bringing Forth Life: God’s Purposes in Pregnancy and Birth. My husband and I have three kids, and now a dog called Smartie, and we live in the beautiful Blue Mountains.

Do you have a favourite Bible passage? If so, what is it and why?

There’s so much good stuff in Romans chapter eight, but I really like the big picture offered in verses 22-23 of all creation labouring towards new life:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

This is such powerful imagery attesting to why things are often so hard now, but also that the pain has a purpose, leading towards the birth of the new creation and life with God.

How do you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus? Being in ministry is a privileged position as it enables, and in fact requires, us to be orientated towards Jesus and nurturing the faith of others during the working day. Lately I’ve also enjoyed getting back into reading theology, after a long hiatus while we had little kids. I’m really enjoying being able to focus on the areas that I’m drawn to as I apply to do some further research, rather than just having to read the prescribed booklist like in undergraduate study. In this process, new things that excite me about God keep jumping out at me.

What would you like the next generation of Christian women to know? As a woman, you are a picture of God to the world, just as a man or a child is, but also uniquely from them. Your body is good, it’s remarkably powerful and does all sorts of amazing things, as well as your mind or brain. Being a midwife puts me in the front seat to watch this. Our experiences are too often ignored or devalued but we can look to the scriptures for a rich picture of their significance.

What’s one thing that you love about your local church? I love our church community. It’s a real mix of ages and stages so not that many people are actually ‘similar’ to me in that sense, but I guess that makes it even more of a family. We have so many older people who exhibit the grace and wisdom of a long life of faith. One older woman is the most prolific pray-er, not just for those at church but I know she even prays for my extended family who she has only met briefly! Ever since they welcomed us warmly over a decade ago, our church community has consistently supported and cared for us.

What did you learn about God during a time in your life that you found hard? Parenting three small children was very hard for me in lots of ways; the lack of sleep, their continuous need of attention, the lack of freedom and adult company and change in identity.

But it’s that personal experience that forced me to think more deeply about the significance of bringing new life into the world and begin writing my book. Although I already worked as a midwife, I hadn’t properly considered the way in which the pain, bodily giving and hard work of having children so clearly reflects and points us towards the labour of Jesus for our new life. In retrospect, I was able to gain an understanding of God’s good purposes in those challenging experiences, growing me as well as my babies. It also offered me a fresh perspective on what Jesus has done for us.

What are you passionate about? It’s probably already pretty obvious that I’m passionate about women and the amazing female body and birth. I think all of these have historically been disregarded to the detriment of our global society. The Bible is so rich with birth imagery too. I think there is much to be gained in our understanding of humanity and of the God of birth by looking more deeply at how we (and even Jesus) come into the world. That’s what I’m excited to look into more in my research!

What do you enjoy doing when you rest?

I’m not a big rest-er, partly by circumstance, but also because I just like doing things! I do love holidays though, I enjoy being somewhere different and new, and seeing beautiful places or swimming at the beach. At home I enjoy eating out, swimming, walking or just being with other people.