“Every mother should have at least one Christmas baby. It makes one feel very close to Mary.” - Ruth Bell Graham
I think that is so true. There is something about being pregnant during the Christmas season that makes it all the more poignant. Aspects of motherhood that hitherto might have seemed far-fetched or fanciful, make perfect sense during this season. From travelling to one’s hometown while heavily pregnant to comply with a governmental dictate (which I’ve had to do thanks to a state government mandate that all pregnant women need to be registered and receive a number, which alone will ensure they can apply for the baby’s birth certificate!) to wondering and thinking about this baby and how he or she is going to be – Mary’s delivery story is one I can relate to especially now. And there is nothing like that well-known song Mary Did You Know to galvanise the emotions and draw your thoughts down pathways that you’ve never trod before.
As I listen to this song this season, I’m struck anew at Mary’s willingness to have this baby—to obey God in such a life-changing decision—without probably knowing all that was in store for her and her Child. What a depth of trust in God – to accept and obey. Having a baby is no small choice because you give your heart to that little bundle, as every mother would know. You cannot contain the love that overflows when you hold your child close. Mary agreed to all of that – the love, the heartache, the entire gamut of being a mother.
“Then Mary said, ‘...Let it be to me according to your word.’” (Luke 1:38)
I pray that I will be as willing with my own life, to lay it down in obedience as an act of faith, trusting that the God who knows the future will ensure everything works out for good.
As I meditate on who Jesus is this Christmas – the great God of this universe, who laid aside His majesty to take the form of a helpless infant – I am amazed again that Mary had the privilege of holding the great I Am. I’m so thankful that our Lord rewards acts of obedience with unforeseen joys!
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the Great I Am
Oh Mary did you know?
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
