'get up and eat'

At Mass yesterday, the first reading was 1 Kings 19:4-8:

Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: "This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

While I was listening (and reading along), all I could think about was being in labor. How it's important to stay nourished and keep one's body (and spirit) fueled for the hard work of it. How God provides strength at times when it gets so bad we want to give up. How maybe it's a good idea to eat more than ice chips during labor. Hearth cake and water. Carbs and hydration. I wonder if labor will feel like walking forty days and forty nights.