The Scene:
She pushed one final push, and he was here. Leaning back in exhaustion, her body was shaking uncontrollably from the intensity of the labor contractions. Sweat covering her smiling face, she reached out to take hold of her perfect baby for the first time. Her first born. The little boy who made her a first-time mom.
She carried this baby for 9 long months. Stretching. Growing. Swelling. Aching. Feeling all the kicks and squirms, the flips and hiccups. Every ache and pain she endured in loving anticipation of this moment. This surreal moment.
Oh, how she cherished and adored that baby inside of her! She never wanted him to leave the safety of her womb. But she still found herself counting down the days to when she could finally hold him in her arms.
Then, suddenly, he was here! Her baby boy was born! Sure, her birth plan did not go as planned, but that seemed inconsequential now. Nothing else mattered except that he was here in her arms.
Holding him close, she was surprised to realize that she missed the feel of him inside her womb. How could she possibly miss him when he was right here in her arms! Ah, the complicated emotions of a mother. A first-time mother.
Her mind was overwhelmed with the mixture of adrenaline and postpartum hormones. And despite this, she was frozen in time and savoring every blessed second. This moment would be forever etched in her heart.
Little did Mary know that this moment was also etched in eternity.
For this baby boy was not just her baby boy. He was Jesus Christ. The Messiah. Her Savior. He was her God and Creator. Her hope for redemption. He would one day bear her burdens as his own. He would one day die for her.
Recently I was listening to a song by Francesca Battistelli. It’s entitled, “You’re Here” and was released in 2012. I’ve heard it played on the radio many times over the years during the Christmas season.
And yet, I don’t think I heard it – truly heard it – until last week.
I was standing in my kitchen, icing some sugar cookies, and listening to one of my Christmas Pandora stations when “You’re Here” came on. And I inexplicably found myself pausing to listen with fresh ears and absorb the words for the first time.
The song is from Mary’s perspective on the day she gave birth to Jesus Christ. Take a minute to listen:
It hit me… Mary was a first-time mom, too.
I was suddenly overwhelmed at the realization that this year I have a significantly different understanding of the Christmas Story than I ever had before. Namely, I can now relate to Mary’s experience as a first-time mom, where in year’s past I couldn’t truly understand that kind of experience.
So here I was, covered in icing and powdered sugar, crying in my kitchen, because this beautiful song that I had heard so many times before now suddenly made sense to me. I could suddenly relate to Mary’s experience and I could put myself in her shoes.
I could visualize the Nativity Story in more detail than I ever thought possible. And, consequently, it blows my mind thinking about the complexities of what Mary experienced as the mother of Christ.
Mary BORE THIS CHILD. She nursed him, raised him, kissed his boo-boos, taught him how to “aim”, sewed his clothes, and sang him to sleep at night. She was his Mama.
And he was the Son of God. Come to earth to bleed and die for her sins. She would eventually see him dying on a cross.
Wowzers.
I know the feeling of awe and wonder at holding my baby boy. Touching his perfect nose. Holding his little hand. Inhaling the scent of his head. Counting his ten tiny toes. Rubbing my cheek in his impossibly soft hair. Marveling at his little breaths. Wondering how I possibly made this perfect, tiny human being. Falling so head over heels in love with this little person I just met face to face for the first time. Knowing my world was forever changed simply because he’s mine. And I’m his.
Just as Jesus was Mary’s. And she was his.
Gosh, I can’t fathom it. I mean, I do relate to the vastly complicated emotions of a first-time mom… but HOW did Mary juggle those motherly emotions with the knowledge that her son was the prophesied Messiah!? That’s above and beyond any first-time mom experience in history.
Think About It…
The little baby in Mary’s arms was not only present for but involved in the making of the world.
His infant eyes – that only just opened on this Earth – have actually seen the face of God… and the Heavenly hosts… and the far reaches of the universe.
The small hand wrapped around her finger holds the world.
The little mind that is is still developing neurons and synapses already knew her because he made her.
Gaaaahhhh… My mind!
Can you imagine it? Knowing that the source of all power and authority in all the universe was helplessly nuzzled in the crook of your arm, depending on you for protection and nourishment? Knowing that you were not just a brand new mom, which is terrifying in and of itself, but a brand new mom to the most important Being in all of history?
This little child in your arms would be the ultimate Savior of the world.
Seriously, have you ever tried to imagine that??
It’s hard to do even now after having birthed my own child. Even having experienced the emotions of holding my baby and bonding with him… Even now being able to better visualize the scene of Mary giving birth… It. Blows. My. Mind.
That’s the POINT!
This is the entirety of what Christmas is about – a baby boy who was born into this world, just so he could one day save us from the ultimate punishment for our sins.
It’s not about the lights and the decorations, the presents and the sweets, the parties or the paid time off. No, it’s not even about spending time with friends and family. None of that is the point.
The point is Jesus Christ was born.
The God and Creator of all the universe came to earth as a completely helpless BABY. Because he loves us, even at our ugliest. Even when we don’t love him back. Yet, he chose to come to us and save us from our desperate state of helplessness.
And the only way to do that was to BE a human, SUFFER through every trial and temptation, LIVE the sinless life we can never possibly live, DIE the death we deserve to die, PAY OFF the debt we owe, and RISE again in ultimate victory over death and despair.
THAT is the gift that matters this time of year. The ultimate gift from the ultimate Savior.
In him, we can have hope. Even though this world can really, truly suck sometimes, we can rest in the peace of knowing that Christ conquered it all. He is in the process of redeeming everything that is broken – everything from our hearts to our circumstances. He came to change the world.
And it all started in a little cave in a little town when a little baby was crying in the arms of a first-time mom.
Merry Christmas, my dear friends. May God bless you on this Christmas Day. May your heart turn to the one and only Gift that matters – the one and only source of true Hope and Joy.
