A New Appreciation for the Christmas Story

We've all heard the Christmas story (I'm talking about the birth of Jesus, not Santa Claus) numerous times. Us Catholics are also pretty familiar with the whole "Mary being born without original sin/Immaculate Conception" bit, as well.

Every December, I read the Bible passages and teach the true meaning of the holiday to my students, and I'll admit that I don't usually pay attention to all of those little, yet important, details.

Until this year.

Cases in point:

* So, God really had a plan for Mary her whole life if SHE was born without the stain of original sin. That must also mean that God has a plan for me - and Baby Girl Yasay, and she's not even born yet! (The whole "Before I formed you, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you...(Jeremiah 1:5) still makes me teary-eyed.)

* Mary was pretty amazing. I mean, she was YOUNG (early teens) and here she was blindly saying "yes" to this angel that she was okay with miraculously conceiving a little Son who would become the Savior of the World - and she wasn't even married yet! I'd like to think that I'd do the same thing, but that's got to be more than just a little terrifying - a 13 (or so) year old girl who was told that she'd be pregnant, even though she wasn't married or even had "relations with a man", and this kid was going to be a King over all the earth? That's a lot of pressure on a woman!

* Not to mention Joseph. He was really okay with the fact that he was marrying this girl who was "with child" and believing that this was, indeed, a miracle and not some crazy scam that a wacky girl made up? I'm thinking about Justin - and don't get me wrong, he's a good (GREAT!) guy and everything, but if I had told him that I was miraculously pregnant before we were married and all, I kinda think that he'd ditch me in a heartbeat. (I may be wrong...)

* And then this whole donkey ride when being about ready to give birth. Did you know that the route to Nazareth to Bethlehem is 80 miles? And it's not like there were paved roads that would give them a straight shot to the town. Since Mary was greatly pregnant by this point, it probably took the two (well, three) of them a week (give or take) to make it from Nazareth to Bethlehem through scorching deserts and frigid nights. A WHOLE WEEK. ON A DONKEY. WITH LITTLE FOOD OR WATER. BEING SO PREGNANT THAT YOU COULD GIVE BIRTH AT ANY MOMENT. If it were me, I would have probably been a little angry with God. I mean, seriously - you're making me do what? Isn't this kid supposed to be the Savior? Can't you help a girl out?!? I'm not nearly as pregnant as Mary was (I still have less than 3 months to go!), but whoa - I'm feeling pretty huge these days, so Mary must've been GINORMOUS! And to think that she did it without fear and just trusted in God. Again, she's pretty darn awesome.

* Finally they get to Bethlehem and there's no room for them at the inn. Oh, I would've been so mad at my husband - I would've been on his case for not getting there fast enough or not leaving early enough or not making a reservation at a posh hotel. But, nope, not Mary and Joseph. They were totally okay with a BARN to sleep in. With SMELLY, FILTHY ANIMALS. And nothing but a FEEDING TROUGH to use as a crib. It kind of makes me feel okay that our nursery isn't quite ready yet.

* But here's the kicker - she gives birth to this Son, and all of a sudden all of these people come to pay homage and worship Him. Three Wise Men come from afar bearing the most precious gifts that were around back then. Lowly shepherds came to greet this newborn king. And Mary and Joseph know...they KNOW...that this baby laying there in that gross, disgusting manger is, indeed, the Son of God, Emmanuel. And how amazing is that? It definitely made everything worth it, in the end. God really does know what he's doing, huh?

Merry Christmas!!!!