How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Lord we know you know your business. We know we are but a speck of dust in the corner of your eye. But Heavenly Father, grant me permission to speak to you this morning, Sir. Now, Lord, you made the mountains. You made the forest and the streams."
[…]
Merciful Father, you even made the child your faithful handmaiden Patience is carrying.
And Lord, you made the tornado, too. You made everything, including your humble servants.
We understand you already predicted out comings and our goings. The hour and the minute of our birth. And Lord, if you wag your head on us you know the very second of our death. Father, if you wag your head on this unborn child, how can we watch it experience your wonderful light?" (1.9-13)
Mother Barker turns to God as the twister approaches the cotton field where she is working with, amongst other people, the very pregnant Patience. Helpless in the face of this intensely powerful weather phenomenon, Mother Barker places her trust in God.
Quote #2
The foreman, bound by a rule as old as human life—that man should not see the mystery of birth for it would be like staring God in the face—left the women and walked toward the grove of blackjack trees. (2.24)
So that's why men used to avoid childbirth like the plague… it would basically be sacrilegious.
Quote #3
The pain crouched low, drew back, and struck Patience so hard that although it was noon, she felt God light the night with lightning and wake up the world with thunder. (2.23)
For Patience, the experience of giving birth is like God igniting an epic storm in the middle of the night—it is like being "woken up," thrown into "light" from darkness. Again, then, we see God and epic natural phenomena intertwined.