Taking the nativity pieces from the box, I begin to place each one in their places. Thoughts stir about the time I gave birth to my firstborn. Holding my baby, in the middle of the night, she was swaddled and sleeping. The flood of emotions overtook me, and the tears flowed.
She was healthy.
She was here.
Ten toes and ten fingers.
A whole life held on my lap, neatly and tightly wrapped.
So much potential and promise lay in front of me. And that is what scared me to death. What was I thinking when I thought it would be fun to have children? What was I thinking when I thought I would be able to parent and do it well?
The weight of the responsibility now before me, completely bore down on me in the stillness of that first night. The only thing that I could see clearly through my tears was my inexperience and my inadequacies.
All I could whisper and choke out was the short prayer, “Lord, please help me!”
Did Mary feel the same way the night that she held her first born son, swaddled and neatly wrapped in her arms? Did she feel overcome with the sense of responsibility that she would raise the long awaited Messiah? Could she recognize all the potential and promise that she held?
I am overwhelmed with this thought.
Because of the birth of Jesus, my Savior, every promise that was given is fulfilled.
“For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”
(2 Corinthians 1:20 NASB)
May we rejoice in another promise:
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
(Isaiah 9:6, NASB)
It was to us that He was born. It was to us that He was given.
And it was for us.
All for us.
Each Christmas season may find us in a very different place than the one before. Yet, God is the One who calls us to Himself in every season. In her post, 5 Ways to Gain Peace this Christmas Season HERE, Lisa Blair reminds us to let God show us what our focus needs to be, for then, His peace will fill our hearts and minds.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Image by Deborah Hudson from Pixabay
