A good portion of the country is having really bad weather – the snow, subzero temperatures, the wind!
I got to wondering what the weather must have been like travelling to Bethlehem all those years ago. I know it wouldn’t have been subzero but it can get cold in the desert regions. Was there rain?
Ladies, imagine this…9 months pregnant, riding a donkey, sleeping under the stars. Regardless of the weather, it may have been perfect, but that’s not the time you want to try out the new tent and sleeping bags you just got from BassPro, right?
What was Mary thinking, this was certainly a “memory maker”? Did the trip affect her disposition? What questions did this young woman have, after all it was her first pregnancy?
Mary, did you know?
” So they went running and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the feeding box. 17 When they saw the baby, they told what the angels said about this child. 18 Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary continued to think about these things, trying to understand them.” Luke 2:16-19 ERV
As a mother, I sit here this morning remembering different Christmas mornings with my children and grandchildren. I pray that the significance of that first Christmas morning stays as the focal point in their lives long after I am gone.
Last night I put down the knitting needles and washed the final baking dish of the season. The gifts are finished, and the baked goods have been distributed to friends and neighbors. I want to be remembered not for the goodies and the handmade gifts but for honoring the Lord and being obedient to Him.
I want to keep the attitude of heart that Mary had. The heart of a servant.
“ Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.’ And then the angel left her.” Luke 1:38 NLT
There are not enough words of gratitude to possibly express my heart’s joy over the events of that first Christmas morning and how it’s changed my life. My desire is to be a faithful ambassador for Christ, sharing His love with those around me.
“ For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us…” II Corinthians 5:19-20a NLT
Mary, did you know that your obedience would change the world?
Thank you, Father, for loving me enough to give me the gift of Your Son and a relationship of eternal life with You that first Christmas day.