The birth of any child is a blessing and a miracle from God to say the least. The moment you realize you are pregnant your life changes and you find yourself wondering what this new life will be like. You can't grasp the drastic change a child brings to your life. I know that I have been blessed beyond my wildest imagination with my two children. This time of year we all focus on the babe in the manger but as a mom I can't help but wonder how Mary felt. From the day Gabriel came from Heaven to tell her you will have a son and you will call him Jesus to the day he was crucified. "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus." Luke 1:31 When the pregnancy test says you are pregnant you are hopeful but when you go to see the doctor and they confirm you are pregnant you rejoice. From that moment on you do everything in your power to protect, love and nurture your baby. You are filled with joy and hope for a future that is still unknown. Mary must have felt the same way, except her baby is the reason we rejoice and have joy and hope. Her son brought joy and hope into this world when he was born on that night in Bethlehem. As all mother's do, she took care of him and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger. "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger." Luke 2:12 Do you think at that moment she realized that her baby would be our savior, that this sweet infant would be the ONE who comes and brings everlasting life to those who believe? Did she know that she would again be wrapping him in strips of cloth 33 years later when his job on this earth was done? "Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean cloth." Luke 27:59 My heart breaks for Mary as she knows her son is born to die. The birth of a child is a day a mother will never forget, but parents are suppose to die before their children. This is not the case for Mary and in that way we can in one way or another relate to her, the mother of the chosen one. It's easy to forget that Jesus was a baby, and the bonding that took place between him and Mary as he grew into a toddler, a boy, a teenager, and a man. Jesus was human, meaning he like all of us, had to learn to talk, walk and was dependant upon Mary to take care of him. As a mother of two, I would take a bullet, jump in front of a car or( in those days) hang on a cross for my children. I can't fathom how Mary felt watching her baby boy suffer a terrible death on the cross so He could save the world. The heart ache must have been unbearable but knowing that she would see her son in Heaven one day must have soothed her aching heart. The bond between mother and child is strong but the bond between a mother and God incarnate....wow! This year as you spend time with your children remember the babe born in a manger who gives us all joy and hope and a reason to live. Those emotions we felt when our babies were born were magnified that night...REJOICE! Our savior was born and died but still lives...Merry Christmas!! Until next time may God bless you and keep you.
*Bible verses used from NIV
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