While I understand that, when I grab a free moment, I just post recipes, I wanted to take
a minute and share my heart. With the
Christmas season soon approaching, and every one busy buying gifts, we seem to
always get to Christmas and truly forget all of the small details that lead to
Christ's birth and just why we celebrate that day! Think about it-what if the
decree hadn’t been passed? Would Mary and Joseph have even been in
Bethlehem? And what if Christ had never come?!?!? That is even bigger-our great
sin debt would have never been paid!!! There are so many great songs that we get to
listen to once a year that remind us just what Christmas is all about-“Hark the
herald, angels sing-Glory to the new born KING!” “O holy night, the stars are brightly
shining. It is the night of our dear SAVIOR’S birth!”
BUT!!! Do you ever stop and think about Mary and Joseph?
Like REALLY think about them?!?! In October 2012, I got married. About a month
later, Neal and I found out that we were expecting. We were so excited, but
when December came, I had a new outlook on Christmas. I was pregnant with our first baby. It was as though I looked
at everything through Mary’s eyes. Here she was, told by an Angel that she was
going to be a Mommy! First off, she was a virgin and was still going to conceive!
(Luke 1:28-38) MIND BLOWING!!!! She, without any questions or backtalk, willingly
accepted!!! Secondly, what about all of those people and their comments?!?
There were people who told Neal and I we should have waited, and then there
were people who were excited. Did Mary experience that too? I’m sure she did! Next,
she was told that He would be Holy. We’re not talking about her carrying a
preacher or a missionary. She was carrying God’s son. She was to give birth to a
son who would live a perfect, sinless life. He would one day be beaten; He would
carry the sins of the world and be crucified. Sins that included His mother’s
sins!! I mean, that seriously just blows my mind! He needed her to live and be
brought into this world, but without Him, she wouldn’t be able to live!!
I will never forget there was one particular Sunday morning
in December that it really hit me hard.
I just couldn’t shake the thought that there was this tiny baby growing
inside me. The tiny little hands and tiny little toes, the sweet baby face and
soft delicate skin-one day soon, I would feel him or her kick. All I could
think about was Mary. What all went through her mind? How did she react the
first time she felt Him kick or get the hiccups? Did she hold her belly tight and
long to hold Him close? Now that I have had a second baby, I wonder-Was that
first pregnancy perfect and incomparable to the others?
Hands down, my favorite song for Christmas is “Be Born in Me”
by Francesca Battistelli. It accurately
describes how I felt at that time in my life.
I was scared of the unknown. What was this baby inside of me going to be
like? I wasn't carrying the long awaited Savior though! Mary KNEW that she had been
specifically chosen for this task. Mary also knew that there was something
special about this baby she was carrying and would soon give birth to. Mary knew that this baby was going to somehow
save the world, but instead of being scared or asking God “Why?” she just
quietly sat and “Pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19) Listen to this song
and think of Mary. Think about everything that she was pondering-both while she was pregnant and as she held that tiny miracle in her arms! Think about the rush of emotions you felt the first time you held a tiny baby. If you're a Mom, think back to the first time you got to put your arms around that sweet little babe. Mary was holding the long awaited Savior. He was her tiny son, but he was also her great
Savior!!!
Whitley Grayson
Nora Lou
