Maybe it is just the hormones, but I have found that there is something about being with-child at Christmas that makes the whole season more reflective. This is the third time I am expecting during a Christmas season, and the second time that I am far enough along that the baby’s presence is extremely evident both in how I look and that I can feel all the movements and kicks within me. When I hear the account of Elizabeth seeing Mary and how the baby inside of her “leapt for joy” I can’t help but put a hand to my middle. When I think of Mary taking a journey to another region on foot or by donkey, I can’t help but think of how her body must have felt the physical toll. I find myself more aware of the reality of God’s love to come in the form of a human when I am growing a tiny human myself.
Our first two babies were visited in the hospital by friends
and relatives. There were pictures taken,
gifts delivered, and a million oohs and aahs.
I was attended to by doctors and nurses and the baby was checked and
rechecked around the clock for the first couple days. I can’t help but think of what it must have
been like to have been all alone in a stable- no midwife to help, no
grandparents to marvel or friends to come be supportive. Instead, the celebration visit came from
strangers and her husband was all the help Mary had. What a beautifully humble beginning God chose
to make his grand entrance into our world.
The celebration for the newborn Savior was nothing like I
can image as a new mom- a special star to announce his arrival and a multitude
of heavily hosts praising God as they spread the news. What a beautiful and unique way of spreading
the news compared to our calls, texts, and social media posts.
And while expecting our first at Christmastime, I really
took hold of a verse that hit me in a way like never before. Luke 2:19 tells us “But Mary treasured
up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” While I carried a child close to my own heart,
got a glimpse for the first time of what it might have been like to have such a
front row seat to the arrival of Emmanuel.
I don’t think Mary was anywhere near as clueless as the song “Mary Did You
Know?” makes her out to be. While there
were many details that I would guess she didn’t know or understand- the angel
make it pretty clear to her and Joseph that the baby she was carrying, delivering,
and raising was the Son of God, that his kingdom would never end, that he would
save his people from their sins, that his name meant God with us, and that
NOTHING was impossible for God. And his
mother, cherished and thought about each of these things as she watched the
miracle unfold.
I think of how I have tried to cherish the moments of my
children’s birth stories- how and when we found out, how the news was spread,
what the scene was like in the delivery room, what it felt like to get the
first look at their sweet faces, and watching the joy on the faces of others as
they met them for the first time. I
think of how I wonder what their futures will be like and who they will grow up
to be, and I get a tiny glimpse of what it must have been like to watch God’s
plan in motion.
Through the lens of an expecting momma, I feel the miracle
to be even more miraculous, the celebration to be even more exciting, the joy
to be even more contagious, and the thankfulness I feel to be so much
greater. God loved us enough to come
into the world with the most humble beginning, to experience humanity like us,
to love the least of these of which I am, and to save sinners just like
me. Thank you God, for the gift of you
Son, and the precious wonder of Christmas.
Merry Christmas, from our home to yours!!
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