New research suggests that the brain of an expecting mother changes dramatically over the course of pregnancy. Some of the changes reverse soon after birth; others last until years later. Referencing recent studies, neuroscientist Elseline Hoekzema concluded that brain changes during pregnancy relate to “maternal-fetal bonding, nesting behavior and the way a woman’s heart rate reacts to seeing an infant” (New York Times).

“Nesting during pregnancy is the overwhelming desire to get your home ready for your new baby,” the American Pregnancy Association explains. “The nesting instinct is strongest in the later weeks coming upon delivery. It is an old wives’ tale that once nesting urges begin, labor is about to come on.”

My wife, like billions of other women throughout history, experienced this urge during her pregnancy. While current research only scratches the surface, it starts to explain the many unique changes pregnant women undergo. Beyond that, the studies illuminate a wonderful process God designed that points to His master plan.

The Church today is depicted as a mother to its members (Galatians 4:26). Once born spiritually, these members take on the role of the Bride of Christ (Revelation 19:7) and immediately begin caring for spiritual children. Isaiah 66:13 states: “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.” Gerald Flurry explains: “Jerusalem is about to nourish the whole world, under God’s family leadership! The image in these verses is of nursing children, mom and dad—a type of God’s Family. God is about to bring the whole world into His Family! We are being offered the opportunity to share His throne and help rule that Family! … We will help God comfort the whole Earth from Jerusalem!” (Isaiah’s End-Time Vision).

Just as the brain changes during pregnancy, the mindset of members in God’s Church must change in preparation for this reality. For this reason, God has revealed more and more details about His Family plan.

“We must build that yearning for a spiritual family,” Gerald Flurry writes in The God Family Vision. “That is so unnatural that it takes the Spirit of God to truly yearn for that; yet that is the purpose Christ’s Bride will fulfill! … The Bride of Christ must build a natural yearning, a natural desire, to have spiritual children! That desire, however, must come from God. Remember, spiritually we are the woman; we must be building this spiritual yearning within us, where we feel we must have spiritual children. The real family is the God Family! That’s the family God wants us to really get passionate about.”