Supernatural and Pain-Free Birth Story: Garrison's Makes His Debut

I'm so excited to share my supernatural and pain-free birth story. I have another post that talks about the back story of my labor/delivery preparation (reference here). It is definitely a must read to understand how God truly came through in all the details and answered my specific prayers and declarations that I prayed for my labor and delivery. I love to talk about all the details so I apologize in advance if some of this post is TMI but I'm the type of person who wants to know all the details of people's birth stories and find each story so unique and interesting. Everyone's birth story is beautiful--bringing life into the world is just such an amazing gift and I hope that this positive birth story will be encouraging to any pregnant mama or any woman who hopes to give birth one day. I am also writing this as a keepsake to remember because it is now a huge part of my testimony and faith journey.

To preface, I had always planned to do a home birth this time and my expected due date was December 3rd. I was a week before my home visit with my midwife and I had nothing prepared...I had planned to have all birth prep done by 36 weeks since that was when I had Noah.

Okay, so here we go!

11/05/2025~

6:30am-- Like any normal day, I woke up and sat in the baby nursery rocking chair to do my quiet time and Bible reading when I started to feel some pressure down low. It literally felt like I had to poop haha I don't know how else to describe it. It wasn't painful at all but it came and went in waves, which was a bit odd.

7:00am--the pressure went away but then I started to experience some very mild "cramping", kind of like a side ache feeling but down low in my abdomen. I was texting my sister and updating her about these weird symptoms I was having. I thought maybe it was a GI issue like I ate something bad the night before that was causing me to feel this way? Or maybe it was baby Garrison starting to move down? I took a photo and texted her asking if she thought that my belly looked lower.

Her response:

So I just assumed that feeling these things was just Garrison moving down and it would probably continue off and on for the next few weeks.

7:45am--Noah woke up and I was still having the mild cramping feeling coming and going every once in a while so I asked West if he could grab Noah from his crib and hang out with him so I could just chill and/or go to the bathroom right away if needed to lol. I was telling him the symptoms I was experiencing and right away he goes, "what if you're in labor??". I assured him I was not as I was only 35 weeks along and wasn't feeling any labor symptoms. But after the birth I had with Noah, where I went from 0 to 100 so quickly, he told me that I needed to text the midwife and he wasn't going to get Noah from his crib until I did so (a good husband move).

7:59am--I texted my midwife and let her know that I had been experiencing some rectal pressure and mild low abdominal cramping and she asked me if I was pooping regularly and told me to go get a glycerin suppository. I had no idea what that was so I Google'd it and was like yeah no I'm not going to do that (basically a glycerin suppository is a laxative/stool softener that you insert rectally...). She also told me to take a warm Epsom salt bath as well. That I could get on board with haha.

8:30am--West had a business meeting and I asked him if he could take Noah so that I could take a bath since that's what our midwife had recommended, so he and Noah left together.

8:47am--I finally got the bath ready and went to the bathroom before I hopped in and when I wiped I saw the littlest amount of light pink on the toilet paper. I let my midwife know and she asked how many weeks I was. I told her 35 weeks and she immediately responded "Send me your address. I'm gonna run by and check you because we need to make sure". So into the bath I went and she asked me stay in the tub until she got there.

While I was in the tub I brought the prayer journal in that I started during this pregnancy, turned on worship music, and spent the time praying over my body and speaking Scripture over myself out loud. It was the first time being alone, just me and God, and nobody else in the house in a while so it was really such a special and sacred time of worship. It was just so peaceful.

9:40am--My midwife and assistant arrived and came upstairs to find me in the tub. While I was still in the tub, she checked baby's heart rate and everything sounded good so she gloved up, did a cervical check, then looked at me and said "You need to call West. Tell him to come back home because you're going to have a baby". I WAS SHOCKED. I had no idea that I was in labor and the urgency in her voice made me realize that this was happening soon, that I would be meeting Garrison today!! So wild.

I called West and for some reason it went straight to voicemail...twice. Not the right time that you want that to happen but thankfully a few minutes later my midwife was able to get a hold of him and told him to get home as soon as possible.

While we were waiting for West and Noah to get back, my midwife told me that the next time I feel pressure/a "contraction" to just breathe through it and not to push so that we could wait until they got home because "it's too big of a moment for them to miss".

(waiting for West and Noah to get home)

9:47am--West and Noah got home, raced upstairs, and sat on the bed next to me. My midwife said, "the next time you feel a contraction come on, you're going to take a deep inhale and when you exhale, you're just going to breathe your baby out. He's right there!". The midwife's assistant held one of my legs up and West held the other leg and she had me pull back on my hamstrings while exhaling/pushing. Right as he started to crown, my water broke! It was like an explosion and my midwife kind of jumped back haha it was a little shocking. And then on the next contraction she told me to do the same thing and baby boy came right out in one push!

Hearing Garrison's first little cry and holding him to my chest with Noah and West right beside me is something that I will never forget. It was by far the most special moment of my life. Noah was so quiet and just sat next to me the entire time. After Garrison was born, he ran to his room to get me his favorite stuffie "Boo bunny" and handed it to me, it was so sweet.

18.46 inches and 6.38 lbs, Garrison Macen Sharkey made his debut on November 5th, 2025 at 9:47am. It may have seemed early as I was 35 weeks pregnant but perfectly on God's time and totally healthy.

We were all so surprised that Garrison got here 7 minutes after my midwife/assistant arrived and out in one push. I had no idea that I was in labor the entire time and there was zero pain throughout the whole delivery! CRAZY. These were all specific things that I had prayed about. I asked my midwife if I had any tearing and she checked and said "not even a scratch!". That was another thing that I had prayed for. I'll show my list of prayers at the bottom so you can see how God really came through on all of those prayers.

After the midwife and assistant left, it was just our family of four together resting at home. West was holding Noah and I was holding Garrison. It was such a surreal and special time. Then Noah says "more angel??". We were kind of confused at what he was saying so West clarified, "Did you say more angel? Did you see angels?" and Noah said "yeah! See more angel??". I truly believe that God's hand and protection was over us and our home that whole day. He answered my specific prayers and went above and beyond. My birth story is one of those things where it could only be God. All glory to Him because literally none of that could have happened without Him!

Little God treasures that happened that day:

*My midwife just so happened to be at someone's home visit appointment 5 min away from us when I texted her so she was thankfully close by or else she probably wouldn't have made it in time

*West's schedule was open that day where usually he'd be working all day so it was the perfect day for Garrison to come and not having to stress over rescheduling clients

*Noah seeing angels--I am convinced they were there in our home bringing peace and protection

*Noah staying so calm sitting next to me while I delivered Garrison was one of the most special experiences. He was able to see his brother come into this world.

*Noah took a long nap despite baby brother's arrival, which allowed me to get some good rest post-delivery

Specific prayers that I declared over my birth:

Experiencing God answer such specific prayers of mine was so encouraging. And while I prayed for Garrison to be born while Noah was asleep, God had a much better plan for my birth story! One that allowed Noah to be right by my side the whole time and seeing his brother being brought into this world. It was something that was so incredibly special and I couldn't have imagined a better birth story.

What this birth has taught me:

*God answers all prayers, it may be exactly what we asked for or it might be totally different. But either way, His plan is best and so much better than I could have ever dreamed up in my earthly mind.

*God gently taught me that He will meet me where my faith is. If I trust him completely and have big faith, He will meet me at my level of that faith. He says, "According to your faith will it be done to you" (Matthew 9:29)

*Power of prayer: daily prayer and reading Scripture aloud over myself helped build my trust and confidence in what God is capable of doing in my life. It first started as praying prayers that I hoped would happen and each day transitioned to what I believed would and could actually happen during my labor/delivery. It truly transformed and renewed my mind.

*Agreeing in prayer: Having West agree with me in prayer about having a supernatural and pain-free birth was so nice and helpful to have him believe with me even during days leading up where I had my doubts. He helped remind me that God is in control and to trust that the plans He has for me are ones to prosper me and not to harm me, and that pertains to my delivery (Jeremiah 29:11). I decided not to tell anyone (besides West) that I was praying to have a supernatural and pain-free birth. I didn't want people saying things that would bring fear or doubt into my mind and I didn't need to feel any outside judgment that might make me question if it would be possible for me to experience a pain-free delivery so having West agree with me was really important to me as I prepared for this birth.

Well, if you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my birth story! It is something that I will treasure forever and I am so happy to share the experience that I've had and to spread God's glory throughout this whole birth story. I wanted to have a birth that was so clearly God-ordained and that was stamped with His presence from beginning to end and I'm happy to say that this was definitely the case for me. Everyone's birth story is unique and God has written each and every one of them. Long or short labor, painful or painless, they are each so beautiful and part of our own stories.

Thank you for reading!

xoxo, Macy and Garrison

Supernatural and Pain-Free Birth Story: Backstory

Sitting here a little over two years after my first birth story, I couldn't be more excited to share my second birth story. This birth was so incredibly different than my first and was such a redemptive story demonstrating God's goodness, faithfulness, and comfort during what is typically a nerve-wracking moment.

Just a short back story: if you haven't read my first birth story, you can find that in this blog post here. I don't want to say that it was "traumatic" but I will admit that I definitely was fearful during the process, didn't know what to expect, and everything happened so quickly that I felt like I couldn't even pray, focus on my breathing, or think about anything other than how scared I was to push my baby out. While it was only about two hours of labor and 45 min once I got to the birthing center before delivering Noah, it was not what I would call a peace-filled birth story.

But that was the first birth story and now on to the next. I am so grateful I get to share this birth story with you all. I prayed so hard that this birth would bring glory to God and to share the power of prayer, faithfulness, and trust in God.

During my pregnancy, I read the book Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize and when I tell you that it changed my life, I am not exaggerating. It challenged me in my faith (in the best way possible) and made me really wrestle with how much I actually trust God versus how much I think I trust God. I battled knowing in my mind what God is capable of but not truly believing that I could be a recipient of miracles. As I read my Bible I think "wow, God is capable of so much--raising people from death, restoring sight, miraculous healing of all sorts, parting seas, etc" but for some reason it was so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that He can and is still performing that level of miracles today. And even harder for me to realize that I could be a recipient of those types of miracles, like a pain-free birth.

The book contains a lot of Scriptures that I vigorously prayed over myself and baby during pregnancy and over my delivery. I had a journal that I wrote very specific prayers about what I wanted for my birth and what I believed God would do and it's crazy to look back now and see how he answered those prayers! God is so gracious!

As I began writing down those specific prayers, I asked my husband West if he would be in agreement with me in praying for a pain-free, supernatural birth and to believe with me that it could and would be possible for me. In the Bible it is written, "Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (Matthew 18:19-20). There is power when we agree with people in prayer and I am grateful that West stood by me in this process.

I share all of this backstory so that you know that it wasn't just a little prayer, wishful thinking, or positive vibes that I had for my birth story. It was months and months of pleading with God to help strengthen my faith in Him and training myself to speak life over my pregnancy/labor/delivery and to cover myself in God's protection. It isn't something that happened overnight but with each day that I read Scripture out loud and prayed my specific prayers, I could tell that God was renewing my mind and covering me with His peace. Children are a gift from God and I believed that He has a better way and plan for my birth and delivery (better than what I had experienced during my first birth), as I bring one of His children into the world--not something involving fear or pain. I feel so blessed to have experienced that type of supernatural birth this time!

Stay tuned for the actual birth story that I will be posting!

(This is the book I referenced that I read during my pregnancy)

James 4

This chapter James' warning us against worldliness.

You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.

James explains that the "wars and fights" among Christians are due to lust of flesh. Based on commentaries, his reference to 'murder' is less so about killing and more so about the heart posture that is shown via anger. This language is aggressive because he wants us to understand the depth of evil and hatred towards one another. If two believers are walking in the Spirit of God, there will be no fighting among them. God does not create in us lustful desires, nor does he bring bitterness and covetousness upon us; those are from our earthly desires. The sad thing is that we tend to strive after lusts of the world, which leads to temptation to fulfill sinful desire but that does not satisfy us so we're left with sinning a lot and yet never being satisfied.

 You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

Our desires stem from our lack of seeking God for our needs. We are reminded the power and importance of prayer and to ask God when we pray. However, James warns us against selfish prayer. When you do ask God, what are your motives? Are they selfish? This leads to the good old vending machine/genie analogy where we treat God like a vending machine, just asking him for what we want when we want and waiting for him to spit it out right when we ask. It's like asking God to be your servant to join you in your service of meeting earthly desires. One commentary puts it beautifully, "We must remember that the purpose of prayer is not to persuade a reluctant God to do our bidding. The purpose of prayer is to align our will with His, and in partnership with Him, to ask Him to accomplish His will on this earth".

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James points out that we cannot be friends with the world and friends of God at the same time. It defies His will and purpose for our life. Our God is a jealous God and yearns after our hearts. The type of jealousy can be explained as the betrayal of a person with an unfaithful spouse; they are faithful to the spouse but the spouse is not faithful to them. I believe He uses the Holy Spirit to gently convict our hearts so that we turn away from our evil ways and move to align more with Him.

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."

Sin won't win when we draw near to God. "Sin seeks to enter, grace shuts the door; sin tries to get the mastery, but grace, which is stronger than sin, resists, and will not permit it. Sin gets us down at times, and puts its foot on our neck; grace comes to the rescue... Sin comes up like Noah's flood, but grace rides over the tops of the mountains like the ark." (Spurgeon)

God gives and gives more and more grace, He is abounding in love. He resists the proud but extends His grace to those who are humble. Grace and pride are like oil and water; they cannot mix, they oppose each other. Pride puts oneself in the spotlight and and expects praise and blessings due to own works whereas grace is not given due to anything we have done or could ever do, it is given on the basis of who God is. Humility doesn't earn God's grace but the posture of humility is what positions us to receive it freely.

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

It's wild that we need to be reminded (myself included) to submit to God, to surrender to Him, to put Him first when He is the Creator of the Universe! There is such heaviness on my heart that I would ever put my needs/wants above His or that I would think of myself so highly that I can do life on my own or that I would turn to God only out of my own selfish need. Submitting to Him shouldn't feel like a task, we should surrender to Him because He created us, He has good plans for us, and He will give us peace. Resisting Him will not lead to His goodness. When we draw near to Him, He is excited and quickly comes to draw near to us (I get the image of the prodigal son). We can draw near to Him in prayer, worship, journaling, reading His word, thanksgiving, silence, so many ways! Drawing near to Him will also refine us to be better image bearers of God and less like the world and the enemy.

When we draw near to God, we come to him as sinners and humble ourselves. He will lift us up! Like mentioned earlier, when we are humble, that's when we receive God's grace.

Do not speak evil of one another. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his borther, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Are we godly in the way that you speak about others? Earlier in James he talks about the power of the tongue. In this chapter he warns against worldliness and I do feel like gossip and speaking bitterly over someone is very common in our day and age (hello reality tv shows). When we judge and speak poorly of others, we are basically posturing ourselves as a judge, which is not our authority, that's God's job.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

^^ i hear you God, loud and clear!

This was so convicting because as a planner and very Type A person, I love to have a game plan, and know exactly what my future holds. Well, jokes on me because I don't know nor will I ever know what my future holds and I overestimate my ability and underestimate my limitations of doing life my way.

"There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass--one is that God knows, and the other is that we do not know." (Spurgeon) Aint. That. The. Truth.

Life is so fleeting and while planning in it of itself is not bad, James encourages us not to plan apart from relying on God and His will.

To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

It's easier said than done to do all these things (live in humility, do good, don't sin, etc). But because we know and are called to goodness through the Word, we are accountable to do them. Like James has said many times in this book, our faith is proven through action.

Takeaway...

We are to humble ourselves to receive God's grace and to be transformed so that we can live in the world but not of it. Our sin comes from earthly desire and the more that we draw near to God, the less that sin has a hold on us. We are to partner with God in this life.