Baby Change by Anne Calver

Author:Anne Calver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SPCK
Published: 2020-01-23T06:56:55+00:00

Hannah Bettany’s story

I recently sat in a university canteen hall, explaining to a couple of church leaders who I am. I have a husband and two kids (5 years and 18 months), I lead a church and am about to plant another from it and I am at the uni because I have ­accepted an offer to be the programme director for the gradu­ate diploma, as well as studying on it at the end of the year. One of the leaders coughed, ‘She’s taking over!’

He was lovely and didn’t mean any harm, but my reply spilled out in Beyoncé style: ‘Who run the world . . .’

This man’s small remark, his initial response to my current position, was that I was ‘taking over’. It made me wonder if this was because I was doing too much. Mum-guilt hit: should I be at home with the kids?

Before I had my first child I had worked for five years in full-time prison ministry and was very ready to do something different. I had so strongly been called to be a mum and had a couple of years of waiting for my promised child, so when he arrived I was ready to spend all my time with him. Everything changed and I didn’t want to go back to work, as I just wanted to have my face in his all the time! I can remember feeling quite strongly that I wasn’t sure why women would have children if they wanted to work – they had the best thing now, so why work?! It is easy to be judgemental until it’s you!

When my son was 3 I clearly heard the call of God on me again for something new. I started my job as the ­leader of Ivy Church Sharston after a series of very clear God-­appointments – and I loved it! God helped by providing ­childcare I was comfortable with. I worked part-time, and my son spent a few days in the nursery and a day with my mum. I felt I was flourishing and getting into my stride – and then I found out I was pregnant again! So once more everything had to change. I felt God say it was all so that I was building his Church and able to hold lightly. I built while my belly grew and then I took maternity leave – there were a lot of questions about how a woman does this at the same time as she leads a church! I didn’t find anyone I knew who had done it before. So with a lot of prayer and the support of Ivy Church we found a wonderful lady to hold the baton and we worked together through my maternity leave.

We then had to question as a family again when we reached seven months: what do we do now? The feelings I had first time round, of just wanting to be at home, were different now. I love my baby girl and am so thankful

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