Birth Pangs

Momma Mary, when the angel Gabriel came to you, you had a choice.  You could have chosen the easy road, the one inside your comfort zone, without scornful judgment, without painful loss.  You received him, willingly, and graciously into your own body and soul. You carried our Lord Jesus to full term as you journeyed far with him growing and moving inside you.  It had to be painful at times, uncomfortable at least, but you carried on.  You birthed him into an animal stall, and made His bed in a food trough, a place where the sheep came to eat.

Thank you for saying “yes” to God’s wonderful plan.  Thank you for the gift of life that you gave to my Lord and Savior.  Thank you for your complete surrender to God and for a worthy example of a woman after God’s own heart.  Thank you for carrying the Bread of Life, who gave Himself for me.  Thank you for your participation in God’s wonderful plan of salvation.

As a Christian, we also have chosen to carry our Lord Jesus on our journey.  His presence is growing and moving inside our spirits, causing discomfort and pain at times.  Those around us may not understand our gentleness and protective nature of the gift of life that we carry inside us; they may look on our devotion and zeal as a distraction from their own preconceived notions of what a personal relationship with Jesus looks like to their understanding and way of thinking.  We should not be dismayed at the difficulties and judgment, nor should we give up when we feel discomfort, pain and loss, or faint at their disapproval and limited understanding.  We must carry on.

And as we carry Him, we know that He also carries us. We find ourselves in Him, and carry on.