The Christmas Season is finally here! It's Christmas Eve Day and we are so excited to celebrate Christmas! I planned a quick surprise for the kids after school yesterday and it was Ashlyn's Christmas gift! I told them to get their shoes and jackets on and that we were going for a surprise! They had no clue what I had in mind.
We drove to the mall and I acted like I had a few things to get yet for Christmas. When we walked into Clairs, Ashlyn's eyes got big and she looked around. I told her that we should ask the lady if they sell clip on earrings. Her happy face went to "Oh, OK." But then instead, we walked up to the counter and I asked if they could do a piercing? Ashlyn's eyes got even bigger and she said, "For me?" I thought she was going to cry! She was nervous and excited and happy all at once!
YES! We picked out some earrings for her and she took a seat! Austin was along and all eyes! :). She didn't cry. She was too excited to feel much of anything I think!
Doesn't she look adorable!
I always lay in wonder on this night on how it must have really been so long ago when Jesus was born and came into this world as a baby! How was it for Mary and Joseph to travel so far and be so tired to then not have a private, warm, dry place to sleep in that night. God had it all planned out but it sure didn't seem like much of a place for the Son of God to be born! I gave birth to four babies and I know how hard labor is! My toughest labor and delivery was with Matthew.
When I remember my labor and delivery experiences, I can't help but wonder how it was for Mary! I was induced and labor was hard! I'm sure Mary's contractions were hard as she stopped to try to breathe through them in the busy city streets and the bumpy roads and long travels put her into labor! I was at least in a hospital during labor with medical assistance! Not Mary. She was with Joseph, young and having no idea how this was going to all take place but one thing she did know ... labor was hard and coming on strong and she needed a place to go for birth SOON! Joseph was trying! He was looking for a room, anything or anywhere to get out of the cold, wind and crowded streets! I'm sure he was praying for direction! When they were offered a place, after searching and searching, they took the offer of a cold, damp cave where the animals bedded. Was it what they expected or good enough for a birth??? It was all they had and they took it! Mary was still in hard labor, maybe in so much pain that Jospeh was the only one unpacking their bare necessities they had with them for their trip.
I remember being in labor with Matthew and as I was sitting on the side of the bed, tears were flowing because the labor was so intense and I finally asked for an epidural. Oh what a heavenly feeling when the pain subsided! Not for Mary! She had to push through the pain! She had no meds or doctors to help ease her pain! All she had were the words to remember in her mind that God said to "not be afraid". Jospeh was there with her and God would have to help them!
After much labor, my doctor finally said that baby is too big and we would need to go for surgery! I remember being so tired and weak and saying to myself, "God, all I want is a healthy baby and I know my body will heal!" I was too tired to care much about the rest of the delivery but I had good people that helped my through and Mike was beside me the whole time! I was wheeled into surgery and 32 minutes later, Matthew was born a healthy baby boy and I was so happy to have labor and delivery over with! I never dreamed this delivery to go this way. I was so grateful to be in a place where I could get help!!! Thank you Jesus for helping me through this delivery!!!!
Mary may have wished for assistance??? Maybe the inn keepers wife was there to help her? Maybe it was just Joseph being there to help? I wonder if she ever dreamed her labor would go this way? We don't have all these details in the Bible but Jesus was born there that night! The mess, the smells, the blood, the tears, the sweat ... all happened in that stable in the busy town of Bethlehem that night. I am sure Mary was so happy to have labor subside and to finally hold her miracle newborn baby! To look at her baby, the Son of God, must have been so incredible! They counted ten tiny toes and ten fingers. They washed the newborn and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Joseph cleaned up the feeding trough, a manger, and made a bed for the newborn KING!!! I'm sure he was relieved to have this part of their journey over with too!!!!
Mary and Joseph had a calling to raise the Son of God and they obeyed! Even when it was really tough and the previsions didn't seem ideal! There's so much to learn just in this one holy birth story!!!!! It's true! It really did happen! You can take the facts we have in the Bible and add real life to it and it makes the story so meaningful!!!
Christ was born!
