Momma's First Christmas
I've been wanting to write this blog and have made up so many excuses not to... Finding stupid things to fill my time up instead. Well, it's Christmas morning and everyone is asleep... No better time to write this than now.
This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the lights, the decorations, the carols, the baking, the wrapping, the time with loved ones, but above all I love the peace that the season brings... Whether or not you believe in Jesus, you know the peace I am talking about... On Christmas day, no matter who you are, where you are, hurting or happy, you can have peace. I don't mean to sound cliche, but it's the truth. Jesus came to make peace between man and God. It truly is amazing! My goal is not to preach to you, but I want my readers to know that I 100% believe in the Spirit of Christmas and Who this season is about...
With that in mind, I feel like this is the first year I have been able to really grasp (as much as the human mind can), the miracle of Christmas. Haven being born just eight months ago today, I feel like I better understand the awe of it all. Experiencing labor gave me a very small idea of what Mary may have felt over 2000 years ago... with a few differences.
She was a virgin, having not been with a man (Luke 1:27, 34; Isaiah 7:14) WOW! Getting pregnant is a miracle in itself... Often we do not think of it like that, but conception is difficult. Then there are so many things that can go wrong in a pregnancy and terminate it. Obviously, God was at work, so nothing was going to stop his Son from being born.
She traveled 80 miles while being far along in her pregnancy. Mary and Joseph traveled to pay taxes (Luke 2:1-6), which in reality was to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah (16:5) and Micah (5:2). When was the last time you traveled 80 miles on foot (or on donkey), while being super pregnant?
She had not experienced labor or delivery before. So she, nor Joseph, probably knew what to expect or do. Perhaps Mary had seen a birth or even several, but if you are a momma, you know watching and experiencing for yourself are two completely different things. There were no doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas, or family members to comfort, reassure, or handle complications.
She gave BIRTH in a MANGER! (Luke 2:7) Child birthing is messy (yes, I said it!), so it is important for things to be sterile. You are definitely not going to find anything sterile in a barn full of animals.
To top it all off... God chose shepherds to be the first visitors. The "social outcasts" were the very first people to greet the God-Baby. This is my favorite part of the story... He chose the uneducated, the poor, the religious rejects to be the first to adore the Baby.
I've been waiting for my baby's first Christmas since before she even came into existence. Haven's birth has caused me to reexamine the way I think about the birth of Jesus... I feel like I am seeing it completely fresh and new, for which I am thankful. The miracle of a baby, the birth of our Savior; Who made it possible to know the peace that goes beyond our understanding during this Holiday Season.
This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the lights, the decorations, the carols, the baking, the wrapping, the time with loved ones, but above all I love the peace that the season brings... Whether or not you believe in Jesus, you know the peace I am talking about... On Christmas day, no matter who you are, where you are, hurting or happy, you can have peace. I don't mean to sound cliche, but it's the truth. Jesus came to make peace between man and God. It truly is amazing! My goal is not to preach to you, but I want my readers to know that I 100% believe in the Spirit of Christmas and Who this season is about...
With that in mind, I feel like this is the first year I have been able to really grasp (as much as the human mind can), the miracle of Christmas. Haven being born just eight months ago today, I feel like I better understand the awe of it all. Experiencing labor gave me a very small idea of what Mary may have felt over 2000 years ago... with a few differences.
She was a virgin, having not been with a man (Luke 1:27, 34; Isaiah 7:14) WOW! Getting pregnant is a miracle in itself... Often we do not think of it like that, but conception is difficult. Then there are so many things that can go wrong in a pregnancy and terminate it. Obviously, God was at work, so nothing was going to stop his Son from being born.
She traveled 80 miles while being far along in her pregnancy. Mary and Joseph traveled to pay taxes (Luke 2:1-6), which in reality was to fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah (16:5) and Micah (5:2). When was the last time you traveled 80 miles on foot (or on donkey), while being super pregnant?
She had not experienced labor or delivery before. So she, nor Joseph, probably knew what to expect or do. Perhaps Mary had seen a birth or even several, but if you are a momma, you know watching and experiencing for yourself are two completely different things. There were no doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas, or family members to comfort, reassure, or handle complications.
She gave BIRTH in a MANGER! (Luke 2:7) Child birthing is messy (yes, I said it!), so it is important for things to be sterile. You are definitely not going to find anything sterile in a barn full of animals.
To top it all off... God chose shepherds to be the first visitors. The "social outcasts" were the very first people to greet the God-Baby. This is my favorite part of the story... He chose the uneducated, the poor, the religious rejects to be the first to adore the Baby.
I've been waiting for my baby's first Christmas since before she even came into existence. Haven's birth has caused me to reexamine the way I think about the birth of Jesus... I feel like I am seeing it completely fresh and new, for which I am thankful. The miracle of a baby, the birth of our Savior; Who made it possible to know the peace that goes beyond our understanding during this Holiday Season.
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