Can you think of a time you have been utterly seized by emotion? A time you found yourself swept away, awestruck, humbled, shocked? Whether it be the game winning shot, walking down the aisle at your wedding, the death of a loved one, or the birth of new life, we have all experienced moments when we have felt overcome by the feelings raging inside of us.
We all know women tend to be more creatures of emotion than men. Apparently my DNA didn’t get that message. The older I get the more emotional I become, but I am still sorely lacking in that department compared to the average woman. I don’t often tear up and get weepy. I operate much more by logic than emotion on most days.
Imagine my surprise then, when one year in the midst of my Christmas decorating of all things, tears fell rapid and free.
Let me give you a little background to this scenario. My husband and I got married at the beginning of December in 2000. Many of our wedding gifts consisted of various Christmas decorations, but our favorite by far was a Willow Tree manger scene given to us by a family from our church. We loved the simplicity of the figurines and were deeply touched by the generosity of this family.
Fast forward to 2005. I sat in the middle of the living room floor pulling out the figurines one by one to place on top of our china cabinet. As I gently unwrapped the Mary figurine, I felt an unmistakable twinge inside. You see, something was very different about this Christmas. For the first time I was a mother. As I gazed at Mary, I had a sudden deeper understanding of her story. The fear, courage, and sacrifice of her role in the Christmas story, a story of eternity, felt much more real.
As I gazed upon the object I held in my hand, it took on a life all its own. Questions raced through my mind. How could this young girl, never having even had relations with a man, possibly grasp the magnitude of her situation at the time she found out she was expecting? What would it feel like to know you were going to give birth to the Savior of the world? How did she feel that night in Bethlehem as labor pains seized her? And finally, how did she face her son’s death on the cross? Was she ever the same after that day? Did the joy of his resurrection completely erase the pain of his suffering, or was she forever changed by the grief of his death?
My eleven months of motherhood had been filled with mild confusion, fear, and feelings of inadequacy. How would you parent perfection? What kind of woman must she have been for God to choose her for such a seemingly impossible task? When every instinct in a mother is to protect, how did she cope with the task of raising a son for the sole purpose of sacrifice? Did she fully know this is what would be required?
So yes, that year I quietly wept as I placed Mary in her rightful place next to Joseph and the baby. The gravity of her circumstances fell on me full force. And only one question remained…how, how did she do it? Obviously, we don’t have an answer, except to know she was faithful, and I am so grateful that she was.
This year, whether it is when you unwrap your own manger scene, attend a Christmas program, or read the Christmas story, take a few moments to pause and thank God for the role each individual played in the greatest story ever told. Try to put yourself in the shoes of one of the characters, and I pray you will be happily surprised by what you find within yourself when you do.