Some babies hit the mother load and end up in a family that tries to satisfy every whimper. Some babies land in a family where they believe a good cry is beneficial for the lungs as well as attitude. Best to learn at a young age not all your needs can possibly be met. Then there are babies that are neglected, abused and have an unfortunately difficult start with some tragic lessons learned at a very young age.
Clearly from the story we know that Mary was a caring and nurturing mother. She was aware to her best ability that she was caring for more than her son but for God himself. I can't even imagine the pressure one can feel by trying to parent God. There is so much pressure today to be the best, perfect parent, that provides your child with every educational, extracurricular, most wonderment experience of a lifetime. If I had to do all this and know I was parenting God and try to feel worthy enough to parent God, I would need a lot of therapy or a real good support group. Plus how does one put God in a time out?
In the past 20 years I have parented, decorated, prayed, wrapped, shopped. sang, baked, cooked, cleaned, organized, created Christmas cards, and hosted one heck of a Christmas Eve party for family without stopping to take a breath. It was important, or so I thought. I needed to honor Jesus. I needed to build a foundation of tradition in my family. I know I am not alone here. I know for a fact there are mothers and fathers out there reading this that are thinking, Yes, that is exactly what I have been doing. But does it really need to be done this way? It is the farthest from how the very first Christmas was celebrated in a manager. So what makes us think we need to shop on Black Friday, go into debt for the best gift, decorate our home as if it was on the cover of Traditional Magazine? How did we get so far from the true meaning of Christmas? Where in the Bible does it say thou tree needs to be the best on the block?
I tend to think we do it to ourselves. It does no good pointing fingers and blaming people on how we can easily get lost. Each one of us gets caught up in society, what we see and hear on TV, social media, even our neighbors. This is portrayed in the adaption of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, directed by Ron Howard. We all laugh at the decorating rivalry between Martha May Whovier and Betty Lou Who and we can see ourselves in those characters, but in real life it's less funny and more anxiety provoking.
This year I was forced to decorate less, prepare less, and cook less. I was forced because of my present life's circumstances. Between a move and a work commute and children in college life looks a bit different this year. It wasn't easy in the beginning, especially when I would try and imagine what this Christmas would look like. Change is hard for anyone, and to be quite honest, all my changes felt like someone else's life. Christmas morning I woke up to a small tree (my first artificial tree) very little decorations, a happy family and Christmas music all around. Christmas was here and it was beautiful. It was love, family, warmth, comfort and home. Christmas is God in human form. When I pray and connect with God I feel love, warmth, family, comfort and home. All the same feelings I felt on Christmas morning without all the stuff. We were together in a different place, we were warm, and were snuggled and grateful for each other and for life. What I had feared and stressed over became a beautiful gift. I know this is common and happens to me often but when I am deep down in fear it can be difficult to see the way out. There is always a way out and the light always shines.
So as we come into New Years I am entering 2019 with no resolutions. I am approaching 2019 with an open heart and an open mind. I am looking towards all the possibilities and opportunities coming my way, especially the ones I can't even imagine. I know when I program my GPS to God, my travels will be to places I could have never picked for myself. I will just keep steady with my eyes open moving towards the light. I wish the same for all of us. To have a year of great abundance of love, family and gifts of the heart. To feel love, warmth, comfort and home wherever life takes you. To spend time with yourself and with God so your own GPS can take you on an amazing journey. To stay connected, to laugh, to make quality time for yourself, to meditate, to exercise, to be healthy to keep moving forward and to never ever give up. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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