Something about Mary

This blog was inspired by one of my good friends Amanda Pierce and a song that she sang at church last Sunday....I think the name of it was "Labor of Love"....don't quote me on that, I am probably wrong.

It really just got me thinking about Mary.....Jesus' mother. I had my first born this year and I cannot IMAGINE 1. having a baby when I was a teenager....out of wedlock or 2. having a baby in a barn.

I think people sometimes try to glamorize the story of Christ's birth. Even the song Away in a Manger....as beautiful as that song is....its a sloooooow, sooooooft, beautiful song about the night Christ was born.....apparently he didn't cry as a baby (I mean, I know we don't know this, but don't all babies cry...especially when they are first born...it clears the amniotic fluid out of their lungs).
I'm not really sure why we try to glamorize it, maybe to make it more appealing, or just because as humans we all like glamor. I don't know, but what I know is that Christ came to Earth to get messy.  Sin is ugly and    despicable in God's sight. Christ came to save us from our sin, to take on OUR sin, therefore He came to get messy FOR US because of His love.  I don't think it was at ALL like the beautiful picture we like to paint or the beautiful manger scenes we put on our mantles at Christmas to decorate our homes.

So, back to number 1. Having a baby when I was a teenager...out of wedlock.....
I saw something on the news last night about a show that is currently on MTV called "Teen Moms". It is about just what the title states, teenage girls that got pregnant by a high school boyfriend. It showed some of the clips from the show....basically all these girls were doing was struggling. Struggling to raise these babies with jobs that pay minimum wage, struggling to get support from their families and "baby daddy's", struggling to somehow finish high school and take care of their babies at the same time.....I mean can I say ROUGH!! I am married, have a job, have a wonderful family and support system and I will unashamedly admit that becoming a parent is the HARDEST job I have EVER tried to do (even though I LOVE Emory so much). At the end of the segment each one of the teen moms (including Bristol Palin) have started an advocacy group for abstinence....can you blame them? I am really proud that they are trying so hard to get their lives together and care for their babies. I really hope that teenagers will watch that show and decide NOT to have sex before they are married.

Back to Mary.... so there she was...a virgin....betrothed to Joseph...when the angel gives her the message that she is pregnant with a baby boy.....instead of acting like I probably would (what? why? how?), Mary simple states "If it is what the Lord wants."....that's AMAZING!!! She had so much faith!!
She trust God no matter what. It wasn't til later that Joseph had the dream and he believed her.
Flash forward to the LONG journey to Bethlehem....she probably felt 9 1/2 months pregnant if she is like most pregos I know...or anything like me in my last trimester. I don't know if Mary was anything like me, but anyone in my family will tell you that I am a planner...it's a blessing and a curse.  If it had been me I would have been like "Ok....we will go to Bethlehem, get a nice room so I can lay down, get some food, get some good rest in a cozy room" but OH NO....God had other plans (much like He does with me 99.9% of the time).  Instead, Mary has her first born in a dirty barn, no other family (like a mom) to hold her hand, pray for her, or just help her through labor. The smell of animal poop all around, blood from labor on the ground, no where to put her baby but in a food trough on some hay, wrapping him in scraps of cloth. I guarantee it wasn't pretty or glamorous. Praise God that from the beginning He has shown us that He came to get messy....to be involved in our crazy dramas of life...and to show us He is able to do anything!!!   PRAISE THE LORD!    It's Christmas!