Mary - The Hostess with the Mostess

I love the Christmas Story. There is something new every time you dive into those timeless words read by so many fathers, pastors, children over the years. Several years ago, as my husband and I struggled to conceive and were constantly praying for children, God spoke to me through His word. This time, he used the characters and their stories to teach me about mine. Two women - pregnant. If you have ‘Hannah’s’ or ‘Elizabeth’s’ in your life - women with a deep longing for a child but struggling to conceive, that can be some of the worst news possible. To hear of another’s pregnancy and feel your own loss ever so much more greater. So as a women praying for a child, I dove into the Word to read about babies leaping in the wombs and the delivery of these little babies. 

So...what did God speak into my heart five Christmases ago? That two women who by all human accounts shouldn’t be pregnant, were in fact pregnant. The simple truth I found? That I was praying to a God who cares about desires and pregnancies and babies! He had shown His might in both Mary and Elizabeth. I serve a God who can absolutely give my husband and I our child in the right time if He so desired. 

Now, flash forward to today as we approach Christmas with two little boys. Our God is so incredibly faithful! And the truth in that statement? That he is still faithful even if He hadn’t answered our childless prayer. 

So...my younger son is now 6 months old. Thinking back to May of this year and June of 2011 when I brought two beautiful baby boys home from the hospital, I have a new respect for Mary this year. I heard a blurb on a radio station this season about Mary and her post partum guests. Well, that got me thinking. After we welcomed out sons, we had company. Grandparents, Great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends all made the trek to visit our little treasures. Granted, they used mapquest, GPS, or iMaps and not a heavenly host or a bright star. 

Setting aside the delivery and post partum recovery in a barn, Mary was a champ. Even delivering the Christ child had to hurt - He was fully human. And then to top it off, she had to host strangers. Dirty strangers. Shepherds who had their animals, wisemen that had traveled many dusty miles. Add to that nursing a newborn, recovering from pregnancy and a many mile donkey ride just a few days before the birth, you can see my respect for Mary. 

How can I apply this to my life today? I need to be a better host. I need to be ready for ‘dirty strangers’. Those that I’m afraid to offend by the hope of Christ. Those that need something but can’t give anything in return this Christmas season. If Mary can host, I can host. 

Looking for a MOMent to host...
Rachel