"Twas the night before Christmas, when all thru the house..."
"...the time came for the baby to be born"(Luke 2:6 NIV)
This Eve of Christmas, what will your activity be?
Both of my sons were born around 9a.m. after a night of labor. Every year, I remember the day and the evening before that night of labor. I recall the activities of the day.
I especially recall the emotions of that first birth...the un-known..what will it be like...will everything be ok...can I do this...should I have accepted this responsibility...
"Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." John 2:19 NIV ...
I have no doubt that every Eve of Christ's birth, Mary re-lived the trip to Bethlehem on that donkey.
Every closed door and every 'sorry, we don't have room for you'. Every scent of that barn. Thankful for Joseph, who could have walked away but didn't. Going over the labor..the pains, the blood, the pushing. No proper way to bathe the newborn, no family to 'OOOooooo, and aaaaahhhhh'
Pondering..certainly lots to ponder.
And the face of the Child, the first cry, the first suckle... the thoughts and wonderings of what the future held for her baby. Ponder indeed.
We too have much to ponder. May we all ponder this Eve of Christmas.
Immanuel, God with us.
