Words that change lives

2 Samuel 11:2-5

It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, “This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

I am pregnant

The words that Bathsheba

had cause to send to David

No instant text messaging

No surprise scan photo

No gender reveal shenanigans

Simply the starkness of the message

I am pregnant

Words that, for David,

changed the trajectory of his life

as he tried to cover his tracks

but was held accountable for his actions

by Nathan the prophet

and by God.

Words that, for Bathsheba,

brought great suffering

and loss
A woman in no position 
to refuse her king
or prevent her husband’s death
A woman who looked loss in the eyes
and was not defeated
but found the strength
to fight back
Those words 

I am pregnant 
wrought in her

fierce love

and determination

Courage

and empowerment

as she mourned the loss of one son

and fought for the rights of another

Bathsheba

abused by one king

and mother to another.
Refusing to carry bitterness
but only love
to see her through.