As a mom-to-be you dream of where you will give birth, who will care for you, what things may go wrong, and where you will bring your baby home to- Mary had no knowledge about any of those things. Today we are concerned that when we give birth everything will be clean and sterilized, and we make sure experienced people will be around to help us, be it doctors, nurses, or midwives. We dream of having our husband by our side and spending our first moments as a family together. What must Mary have thought when her time came and all that was available was a filthy stable filled with stinky animals and no one to help her? She was a teen herself...what could she have known about giving birth? I imagine she felt alone and fearful. Did she allow Joseph to help her- a fiance she had never been intimate with? Would she have let him see her in this most intimate moment, or was he pacing outside the stable, also fearful and unsure of how to help this young woman whom was to be his wife?
I have to imagine even before the birth and the journey they took to Bethlehem. I cannot tell you how my body aches, how exhausted I am, and how swollen my limbs are. When I imagine that, while on a long journey by foot and donkey....I cannot fathom. What must she have thought when the decree came and she realized she had no choice but to make the journey? She must have known her time was close. Did she whine and complain like I surely would have, or was she stronger than me? Maybe she accepted with grace and faith. How that thought challenges me! How did she manage to walk with her baby dropped down low, or (in my opinion perhaps even worse) ride on the bony back of a donkey bumping along? Were her ankles swollen beyond recognition from walking alongside Joseph? Did she manage to sleep while they camped or was she too uncomfortable on the hard ground? There are so many things I never truly understood before.
Suddenly, all the unknowns about my own birth story don't seem so insurmountable. I know Matt will get me to the hospital on time (in the comfort of our Jeep, with seat heaters if "needed" in cold weather), where I will be surrounded by the best of care both during and after the birth. I know there will be knowledgeable people and modern medicine should my babies or I need care. I know I will bring my babies home to a sweet nursery I have diligently and lovingly planned and created every perfect detail of. And I know I will not be alone.
As Advent begins and as I face these last weeks of pregnancy, I will constantly be thinking of Mary and her story and praying that I have the faith she did. For those of you women who have been pregnant, I challenge you to really think of what her journey must have been like. And for those of you still waiting for your miracle baby, I challenge you to have faith in what you do not know or see- just like Mary did as she learned of her pregnancy, made her journey, and gave birth alone, all while trusting in Him. What an incredible young woman she must have been!
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