A Singular Anticipation of Christmas - Day 23

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? 
Mary did you know that your baby boy would 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

Today’s song has always been one of my favorites.  Since Elliott and Ian joined our lives, I listen to it with even more appreciation.

I’ve long said that when I married Katie, I knew I was marrying a wonderful wife.  What I didn’t know was that I was marrying a very special mother.  In truth, I didn’t fully realize just how special so many mothers are.  On earth, there is  nothing more miraculous than witnessing the bond that occurs between a mother and a child before that child even takes his or her first breath.  Sure, us dads try to be supportive during the pregnancy – and often fail miserably at that – but that baby literally becomes a part of who a mom is.  I watched the glow in Katie’s eye brighten more daily as she fell in love with each of our boys.  It is a glow that has never left.

It makes me wonder what kind of glow Mary had in her eyes when she fully understood she was carrying the Savior of the world.  The arrival of this child had been talked about for hundreds of years prior to the angel Gabriel telling Mary she would carry the baby Jesus.  Much like Joseph, she had to wonder why me.  Has God ever shown more favor to any of us than he did to Mary when he chose her as the perfect woman to be mother to his only begotten Son?  I have to imagine the glow in her eyes warmed Joseph’s heart just like Katie’s does mine. 

And how proud was Mary when she saw the kind of man Jesus was becoming.  A mother witnessing a perfect child with an unparalleled heart for people.  I watch Katie’s response when our boys show kindness.  When they show signs of caring for others.  You see that glow from those early days of carrying them fire up and burn brighter than ever.  I can only imagine how proud Mary was, and how clearly she understood how little it was all about her. 

What I cannot as strongly imagine, and what I pray I never have to see, is the anguish Mary must have felt when she witnessed Christ being nailed to the cross, his life sacrificed for ours.   Can there be more opposite emotions?  Cradling the Savior of the world in your arms in a manger  - a most beautiful picture of life, and standing by helplessly watching nails bind him to the cross that will forever symbolize his death.

I am grateful today that through Katie I can appreciate Mary’s role in the birth of Jesus.  Through her I can appreciate that God has shown favor on me as well.  He has trusted me to raise two of his children, Elliott and Ian, and to pour love on His many children that cross my path each day.