So this Christmas season has been different than any other I've had so far. It's my 2nd Christmas not working and staying home with the kids. But last year, we were in BR for 2 weeks, and I had done most of my shopping while I was there in October visiting. This year, I've been able to take the season slow and not let it sneak up on me. I did my shopping a little at a time, so I wasn't overwhelmed a week before Christmas! I've also been able to do and advent experience everyday with the kids that focuses on the Christmas story, from Zecheriah all the way to the Wise Men. They look forward every day to finding out what they're learning next and what craft they get to do.
This year is also different because I'm pregnant. Very pregnant. I can't help but think (especially the past few weeks) about Mary and how she felt. I mean, that girl is a rock star in my opinion. First, an angel comes to her and tells her she's going to have son. And not just any son, THE son. The Messiah. The one they've been waiting for and learning about. Does she freak out? No, she just says, OK, I'm just gonna trust God on this one. She's a teenager, this is her first child, she's probably getting dirty looks from people because she got pregnant before she got married. As if all that wasn't scary enough, she's having God's son!! Talk about pressure.
And then there's the birth. I'm sure every mother (just as I did/am doing) worries about "How am I going to get this baby out?", "How am I going to be responsible for another life?", and "when is this baby going to come out?" I'm worried about making it the 40 min drive to the hospital-she had to worry about taking a ride for DAYS on a DONKEY!!! I wonder how that conversation went with Joseph when he told her what they were going to do! And then after making the long, hard, uncomfortable, probably painful journey, she got bad news. "Oh, sorry, honey, I know you're about to push a baby out, but we're not going to let you come inside where it's warm and there's a bed- you can go lay in some hay." I wonder if her hormones were going crazy, and if she immediately started crying, or if she was ready to give that innkeeper a piece of her mind? I'm guessing she did neither. Even though she was scared and young, God did pick her, right? There's a reason for that. He chose a girl who knew Him and trusted him with everything she had and in every circumstance. I wonder if God needed me to do something even halfway as important as mother his child, would He look at me and say, "Yep, I'm picking her"?
So then after Mary gives birth, she has all these strange men come and visit her. No sleep, hurting, sore, emotional, and then to have some stinky shepherds want to come see the baby! Did she freak out now? Did she say, "I just can't handle this?" No! She allowed them to see her precious son and worship Him as they pleased. Who was she to get in the way of God's work? Luke 2:19 says, "but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often."
I think I'll take a cue from Mary this Christmas and try not to let my emotions get the best of me. Sure, everything in the next few weeks may not go exactly according to my plan, but should it really be my plan I'm following? Think if Mary told Joseph, "no, I'm not going to Bethlehem with you" or insisted that the innkeeper give them a room. We would have no "Away in a Manger" or "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem". Or even worse, prophesy wouldn't have been fulfilled.
So something for me to think about this Christmas: What plans does God have for me (or other people) that I screw up by following my own path?
Merry Christmas!!!
