mary was still a mom

When we think Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, this is was we call to mind, right? Divine, serene, fresh-faced. Holy. Mary doesn't get a whole ton of attention, which is understandable. Her son kind of stole the show, it was to be expected. But with Christmas quickly approaching, for some reason this time around I've been thinking a lot about Mary. Not forgetting that obviously the arrival of our Savior is the most important part of the celebration, but just  taking a second to dwell on the role of his mother. I find myself attempting to put myself in her shoes.

Historians speculate that Mary was between 14-16. Ok, first up, that's young. I know that times were different then, that betrothal almost always happened around that age and that it was the norm. But still. Young. Engaged to a carpenter, a virgin, still living with her parents. And then there's Gabriel. Which, let's just take a moment to absorb how completely over whelming it must have been to all the sudden have a glorious, radiant angel in front of you. And he greets her with "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" {Luke 1:28} Favored one? Me? I know that's what my brain's telling me at that point. And then Gabriel lays the hammer. Oh hey, you know how you're a virgin and all? Well God's going to place his Son in you, and you're going to be the mother of the Savior of the World. Cool? K. I mean, obviously way more eloquently than that, but can you imagine getting that news?! Mary's response? "Behold, I am a servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word." {Luke 1:38} Bam! Mary was a stud! What a humble, self-sacrificing response.

So now you have to break it to your fiance {that you've never had sex with...} that you're pregnant. And that it's God's. Uh huh. The book of Matthew notes that Joseph resolved to quietly divorce Mary. Bringing their situation to public light could have actually led to her death, since at the time adultery was an offense punishable by death. Being the righteous man that he was Joseph decided to take care of it behind the scenes. Can you imagine how stressed out you would've been if you were Mary? Um, God? This is real cool that you've decided you want me to mother the King of the world and all...but my fiance's about to break up with me. And everyone's going to think I'm a slut. An angel visits Joseph to let him know that the child she is carrying is in fact the Holy Spirit's, and that he needs to take her as his wife. Again, Joseph is a righteous dude, and he follows the commands of his God. Good man, that Joseph.

The decree of census goes out, and it's time for Mary & Joseph to travel to Bethlehem. Mary is serious pregnant at this point. Riding on a donkey/walking. From Nazareth to Bethlehem. Y'all that's like 80 miles. No way Jose I'm going all that way all huge and pregnant and swollen feet. But she did it. And if I had to take a wild guess, she probably didn't complain a whole lot, like I would. They make it to Bethlehem, and can't find a place to stay. Every single room in the joint is booked. So they end up in a barn. A stinky, uncomfortable, loud barn. Let's keep remembering Mary's 9 months pregnant. And 15. And then it's time. At this point, the song Silent Night kind of cracks me up, because I have a feeling it was less than silent. But I wasn't there, so who knows. All I know is child birth sucks and hurts and she was doing it in a manger with no epidural. Sweaty & tired & over-joyed & in pain, she pushes through childbirth. Jesus is born. I'd venture to believe she feels the same rush of emotions every new mom feels, so in love with her precious baby boy, no idea of the plans that lay before Him.

This is what I see when I think of Mary. Tired, sweaty, but so in love. One of my favorite verses in the entire Christmas story is after the shepherds have arrived, "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." {Luke 2:19} How beautiful is that? She's just experienced an immaculate conception and given birth to the son of God, but she's still a mother. She still feels like her heart's going to explode from how much she loves this little babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. For some reason this Christmas reason, I love Mary even more than before. I love her for carrying my Savior, for being brave & a faithful servant of God. I love her because she stored all the sweet things surrounding her baby's birth in her heart, just like I will one day. I found the below video on youtube. I love it for depicting a real life Mary. For the honesty in her face as she rode on the donkey to Bethlehem. You can see in her face "crap this is uncomfortable". It's long, but it's heartwarming if you have the time.

Merry Christmas guys. I hope your weekend is full of laughter and joy and good time with your families. And that you really do remember what you're celebrating, the birth of a Savior. Not Santa :)