The Christmas Rush 12-21-10

I've heard many people this year stating what Christmas means to them. For some, it's a season of sharing, family or gift-giving. For some, it's a season of working overtime in a retail job, a season for making sure their children have enough warm clothing to make it through the cold coming months, or a season to gain weight just before the January season of trying to lose that weight again. For some, sadly enough, it's a season to just get through. For even others, it's about decorating and about watching Christmas specials on tv. For me, Christmas is the time when we celebrate Christ's birth. While it is true that we don't know the actual date when Jesus was born, the celebration was placed on December 25- just after the winter solstice- because of a practice called syncretism, sanctioned by Pope Gregory (the Great), and was meant to show the pagan people just what the coming of the light was- not a coming of the literal light as the days lengthen, but the coming of the Light of the World. We don't know his literal birthday, but we still celebrate the coming of the Christ child into the world!

All of this means that about two thousand years ago, another woman was dealing with even more anxiety than many of us face today. She wasn't rushing around since there just isn't a lot of rushing to do when you're on a long journey and there were no gifts to buy or wrapping to do, but I'm sure she had plenty of anxiety. We frequently think of Mary as this calm, serene woman who knows it's all going to be just fine, but I have a different picture of her. She was making a long trek, probably hoping their donkey wouldn't break down on the way, wondering when they would get where they were going and whether or not her baby would have a warm, safe, CLEAN place to be born. She was probably also emotional, since the hormones must have been fluctuating as they do with every pregnant woman I've ever met (myself included with each of my four babies), unsure of the navigation capabilities of her new husband Joseph, and whether or not he would stop to ask directions if they got lost. She was probably surpressing the need to ask "Are we there yet?" Probably praying that the pain in her back would subside, wondering if her swollen belly would have the capability of any more growth if this pregnancy thing went on much longer and wondering if what her friends told her was true about the excruciating pain of childbirth (without the aid of modern pain-killers). Maybe she was even wondering if someone else would remember to feed the cat back home in her absence, whether or not Joseph had packed enough underwear for the trip and whether she would ever be able to see her feet again without leaning forward to look over her belly. And even though there's little rushing you can do on a long trip, I'm sure Mary was feeling rushed as all pregnancies tend to have an end-date--- birth, and not knowing exactly when that would happen, I'm sure she was wishing she could hurry up and get where she was going and know that at least one huge detail would be taken care of. I'm sure she had so many questions and what-if's running through her mind that rest would not come easily to her. Yet all she could really do was wait. Wait on the Lord. Literally.

Waiting on the Lord is perhaps the hardest thing for many Christians to do. A season of expectancy is just that-- expecting, not knowing when or how or what details to take care of, yet waiting on the Lord to fulfill His timing is essential for birthing anything new.

Right now I find myself in the position of waiting on the Lord, knowing what is ahead (women's ministry) and trying to prepare for it as best I can by finishing up my bachelor's degree and then on to seminary after that. I know that I'm going in direction God has called me to go- giving birth (though not in a literal sense, thank heavens!) to a new something in my life. Yes, it is fraught with worry and questions and details, some of which I cannot answer, and even though at times I have a bit of anxiety about those details, I know that God is there to guide me into the future that He has for me. Just like Mary, who didn't know exactly what awaited her, I can still say that I am truly blessed and that I am willing to endure what's necessary.