Christmas Reflections

I wanted to share a thought God downloaded to me the week of Christmas.

I intentionally tried to meditate on Jesus coming to earth as a baby this year, now that I have my own babies and know more about what that truly means.

To me, it is incredible that my Savior--the Creator of the earth and Savior to all mankind--would come to us in the form of a helpless, completely dependent, fragile, needy baby!  It blows my mind!  How did he nurse?  Did He have colic?  When did He start sleeping through the night?  Did He take His first solids ok?  I mean, seriously!  He was fully God, but also fully man... so He wasn't exempt from all of the milestones and developmental markers that babies  go through  and sometimes struggle through.  I pray that I don't let Christmases come and go any longer without taking time to meditate on this amazing yet often overlooked fact of the Christmas story because I came away from these times more in awe of and more thankful for Jesus than before.  

He subjected Himself to infancy!  

Infancy ain't easy!

Then that got me thinking about Mary.  Infancy ain't easy on mommas, either... more so, even.  

Wow.  Mary.  

Mary birthed the Savior.

Often times our recount of the Christmas story ends there in the stable, 

with Sweet Baby Jesus in His manger.

But Mary also raised Him.  

She nursed Him.  

Changed Him.  

Learned His cries.  

Fed Him.  

Cared for Him.   

Rocked Him to sleep.  

Kissed His sweet cheeks.  (I'm sure they were super sweet, too!)

Stroked His head.  

Patted His bottom.

Wiped away His tears.

Burped Him.

Got spit up on by Him.  

I mean, think about it! It's incredible to me.  A miracle.

To think... the Savior, the Messiah:

He had the whole world in His hands, 

all of our lives on His shoulders, 

His destiny was written about in the heavens...

yet, God saw it fitting for Him to need a mommy.

This was where I stayed for awhile a few mornings after Christmas.

God spoke to me about the significance of motherhood.

If Moms should ever question their importance or significance...

just remember that Jesus--the Lord of all the universe--

needed a mommy!

God saw it necessary for Jesus to be raised into Who He would become, essentially...

or at least being raised by a mom (and a dad, of course) was important to the Gospel.

He was already great,

already God;

yet He needed a mom!

So this led me to think on my own babies.

I believe that they already have a destiny spoken over them by God.

God knows their identities even before we fully know them.

He knows the good works He has already set aside for them.  

But even though they already have a destiny, 

my role as their mother is still, and maybe even more so, important. 

I already know this, but the impossibility and miracle of Christmas got me thinking more about the significance of my role as mommy to my sons.

I am thankful that God creates babies with purpose and identity, 

and then sees it necessary to place them in families, 

under the care and direction of a mom and dad.  

What an awesome privilege!

And still crazy to me to think that the God of all the earth 

was placed under the care of earthly parents.