Christmas has always been a beautiful and special time of year for me, full of wonder and mystery. It wasn’t until I became a mother though, that they true glory of the season became real to me. The concept of God coming in the form of a tiny baby, the Savior of the World…it’s so easy to acknowledge and then quickly brush off…
I could write a lot just on that and what I’ve learned and how we try to experience and focus on Christ and his birth, but alas, it’s 10:15 on Christmas Eve, so I’ll write a quick note on what I’ve been thinking about most this Christmas season…
Tomorrow, Christmas Day, I will be 37 weeks pregnant with a little boy…this year Christmas has been full of anticipation, waiting, wondering when he will come, excitement…and I can’t help but wonder what it was like for Mary. Some specific things I’d like to know:
1) Was Jesus born early, on time, or late (did they even count pregnancy in terms of the 40 weeks we use now??) “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born…” Sure…ride a donkey any distance and it’s probably going to induce labor. I have to say, one of the last things I would ever want to do right now is ride a donkey anywhere…
2) Who helped Mary deliver the baby Jesus? That’s a messy, scary business…I’ve always tended to think it was just Mary and Joseph in a tiny stable far away from anyone…though in all likelihood that probably isn’t right. All of Joseph’s family would have had to go to Bethlehem to register as well…so were all the in-laws there too? And wasn’t Mary from the line of David as well? So did all of her family have to go there too? If so, wouldn’t the women have helped? Or was she so judged due to the circumstances that the family wouldn’t help her? I just know I sure wouldn’t want Hans to be the one to deliver our baby!
My questions are kind of along the lines of the “Mary, Did You Know?” song…but a little more practical. For real, what do you do with a placenta when you have a baby in a stable?? Since I don’t think the Bible specifically addresses these things, I guess I shouldn’t dwell on them, but as a pregnant women about to deliver a child…it’s interesting to think about. That God would come down into our messy world, be born of a woman…it truly is amazing and the best gift of which I am so grateful!
Tonight we were looking at Christmas lights, and Isaac took me over to a nativity set and said “I like Baby Jesus! Baby Jesus my friend.” Thank you, God, that my boys are starting to understand your gift too.
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11
Merry Christmas!!
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