POETRY BY KATHY BOECHER
Your tiny, dimpled hands reaching up to your mother’s breast –
Your soft, fuzzy head nestling closer to her.
How did you sleep on that first night of your birth?
You were helpless – in a room surrounded by animals –
Gazed upon with admiration by a group of shepherds and angels.
You were hungry – tired from the birthing experience – Your little body swaddled in strips of cloth to keep you warm.
Your eyes opened and closed. You had ten fingers and toes. You were like any newborn – a little ruddy – wrinkled – soft and new.
There is nothing like the birth of a child. What a perfect way for you to come to us.
Full of life and promise – untouched – perfect in every way.
You came into an imperfect world – struggled through a life of poverty.
In every way You were a baby like others, but unlike others You were perfect. You are the true Son of God.
Hands and feet swollen, tired and sore from the treacherous journey. Belly full and heavy with child. A journey that wasn’t required of her, yet it was. Had she not travelled that rugged road to Bethlehem with Joseph, the prophesy would not have been fulfilled.
They crossed almost a hundred miles, over rough roads and through danger of plunder on all sides. A trip which would’ve been terribly difficult even for a fit individual. Yet there she was – a young girl, ready to give birth at any moment.
The census didn’t demand women be counted. Women were considered second class citizens to the Romans, but God had other plans for this woman. Mary was carrying His only begotten Son – breath of heaven. Such an amazing thought that to most it’s incomprehensible.
As mothers know, a child doesn’t wait for the right moment or the perfect circumstances. Children are born when they’re ready.
Jesus could’ve avoided the traumatic birthing experience, but this is the way it had to be. He could’ve avoided the scourge of the whip and the horrible death on the cross too, but He didn’t. Instead He chose to become our brother, live a life of complete submission and die humbly with the load of our sin strapped to His back.
There were the screams and pain of a natural childbirth. There was no mid-wife. Joseph was there when her water broke and the one who cut the cord. He too had turned this all over to God’s wisdom. This humble couple acted in complete faith, because this was no ordinary birth. They knew they were simply God’s instruments for providing life to the lost.
As the King of Kings lay His tiny head upon a bed of hay, angels sang His praises, shepherds came to worship, animals watched and Mary thought of this event with complete wonder. She tucked away every memory and would think of it many times during her life. This little boy, with ten fingers and ten toes, born of a woman, yet purely the Son of God. God in the flesh. God with us. Immanuel.
She must’ve wondered what her little boy would become. Certainly He wouldn’t be like other children, because of His sinless soul, but as He wiggled in her arms and nestled to her breast – at the moment, He was part of her too.
All of it was unbelievable, but she knew that God had it all under control. She was merely the vessel holding the King of Creation.
