The waiting is almost over! Christmas Eve. What does it mean to you? Perhaps it’s a time of rushing around buying the final items of food for Christmas lunch or buying the present for a relative you had forgotten about. Maybe you look forward to attending church on Christmas morning and being able to sing the 6th verse of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” The words always bring a lump to my throat. This tiny baby who has come to earth to give us all a new beginning.
When I was younger, I was a midwife in a very busy Maternity Hospital. With my practical midwife mind, I look on the birth of Jesus in a smelly stable with a certain degree of horror. The unhygienic conditions, the lack of support, no pain relief, nothing to help if complications arise and so the list goes on. Then I remind myself that most of these things were not in existence over 2,000 years ago.
I wonder how Mary felt? She was a young girl, having her first baby. Did she miss her mother? Mary’s parents are not mentioned in the bible, as far as I know. What sort of advice had been given regarding how to look after a new baby? Was Mary afraid or did she rely on her faith to cope.
Luke 1 v 45 says “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Mary responds to Elizabeth with the words of her Song of Praise. Luke 1 v 46-55.
Let’s pray for all the babies who will be born this year into very poor conditions. Countries like the Ukraine and Syria suffering from the destruction caused by war and other countries suffering from famine or severe weather conditions. Loving Heavenly Father bring your peace to earth this Christmas time.