Birth
I think the actual birth of Jesus gets lost in the stories of Christmas. We think since He was God's Son and Mary was favored by God the birth process was easy. I have a feeling that is not the case. If she did ride a donkey from Jerusalem, she was probably very sore and tired of the bumpy ride. If she walked all the way, she was fatigued before the birth process began. Either way the birth of Jesus was probably very normal for the parents and the baby.
Can you remember the birth of your children? I can remember some of the details, but Chris keeps them all in her heart like Mary did. Each one was exciting and scary at the same time. There is a reason someone coined the phrase, "the miracle of birth." I can't imagine the wisdom of God to figure out how to make that all happen like it does. It is amazing.
With Lori we tried to be prepared because we were at least 30 minutes from the hospital in Waco. She can two weeks late, and Chris started the pains early in the morning. By the time we got in the car to go I realized that I was low on gasoline, so we stopped on the way. In my haste I spilled gas on my hand, and we had to smell it all the way to the hospital. Then, Lori almost came too early. She realized it wasn't her grandmother's birthday yet so she stopped and waited until after midnight to be born just for her. It was great but exhausting.
Dixie was born in the same hospital as Lori. We left early. I had plenty of gasoline that time. However, I was hungry, so we stopped, and I ate some lunch in front of Chris, who could not eat. That was not the best thing to do. I also left Chris at the hospital after Dixie was born to preach a revival service. That was worse than eating in front of her. The thing that even made it worse than ever was that the pediatrician who checked Dixie told Chris that Dixie had a fairly serious heart condition, and I wasn't there to comfort her until later. However, God answered our prayers and healed Dixie's heart. In fact, God used that diagnosis, so that our insurance paid a lot more than it would have.
John came in the middle of the night in February in Georgia. It was 17 degrees when we pulled up to DeKalb Medical Center. As soon as Chris stepped out her water broke, and she was freezing. The nurses warmed her up with heated blankets, and the doctor sped up John's birth so he could get to the office. In the process he forgot to check John's position. When we realized that John was "sunny side up" or face up, he had to make a forceps delivery. It was horrendous. I don't know how Chris made it, but John was fine.
I hope we all think about the fact that Jesus was "born" into this world in the normal way. He had parents who were new at taking care of a baby. They were far from home, in a stable. They had strangers show up to worship their baby, and they told them about angels. I imagine it was much like what we went through. I am glad the Lord was with them the same way He was with us. He brought us through the pain and learning how to care for this tiny gift from God just like He helped Mary and Joseph so long ago.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hebrews 2-4.
Can you remember the birth of your children? I can remember some of the details, but Chris keeps them all in her heart like Mary did. Each one was exciting and scary at the same time. There is a reason someone coined the phrase, "the miracle of birth." I can't imagine the wisdom of God to figure out how to make that all happen like it does. It is amazing.
With Lori we tried to be prepared because we were at least 30 minutes from the hospital in Waco. She can two weeks late, and Chris started the pains early in the morning. By the time we got in the car to go I realized that I was low on gasoline, so we stopped on the way. In my haste I spilled gas on my hand, and we had to smell it all the way to the hospital. Then, Lori almost came too early. She realized it wasn't her grandmother's birthday yet so she stopped and waited until after midnight to be born just for her. It was great but exhausting.
Dixie was born in the same hospital as Lori. We left early. I had plenty of gasoline that time. However, I was hungry, so we stopped, and I ate some lunch in front of Chris, who could not eat. That was not the best thing to do. I also left Chris at the hospital after Dixie was born to preach a revival service. That was worse than eating in front of her. The thing that even made it worse than ever was that the pediatrician who checked Dixie told Chris that Dixie had a fairly serious heart condition, and I wasn't there to comfort her until later. However, God answered our prayers and healed Dixie's heart. In fact, God used that diagnosis, so that our insurance paid a lot more than it would have.
John came in the middle of the night in February in Georgia. It was 17 degrees when we pulled up to DeKalb Medical Center. As soon as Chris stepped out her water broke, and she was freezing. The nurses warmed her up with heated blankets, and the doctor sped up John's birth so he could get to the office. In the process he forgot to check John's position. When we realized that John was "sunny side up" or face up, he had to make a forceps delivery. It was horrendous. I don't know how Chris made it, but John was fine.
I hope we all think about the fact that Jesus was "born" into this world in the normal way. He had parents who were new at taking care of a baby. They were far from home, in a stable. They had strangers show up to worship their baby, and they told them about angels. I imagine it was much like what we went through. I am glad the Lord was with them the same way He was with us. He brought us through the pain and learning how to care for this tiny gift from God just like He helped Mary and Joseph so long ago.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Hebrews 2-4.