Do You Know?

It's officially Christmas Eve. I've been listening to Christmas music on XM Radio for the past month because it really helps me get into the Christmas spirit. There has been one song that has really touched me this year. It's called "Mary, did you know?" and it brings me to tears each time I listen to it. It makes me think about what an awesome thing it must have been for Mary, holding a baby whose birth was ordinary, but whose life wasn't. She must have known he was special but did she ever imagine how special?

Sometimes when I think about my pregnant patients, I wonder what they imagine their child will be. They must all have high hopes and dreams for their baby...though I suppose most children rarely grow up fulfilling the dreams of their parents. I just wonder what Mary's dreams were for her baby.

What an awesome blessing and responsibility she had...and what sadness she had to bear. Many mother's are bearing with loss of a child this Christmas, whether from illness, accidents, or acts of war. I can only hope and pray that all the mothers who believe in the saving grace of Jesus are able to see how His birth makes their own children's lives special too. For those who have other beliefs, I pray that there might be something in the Christmas season that will give them hope and comfort.

For me, Jesus is the reason for the season. Read the words of the song, then click on the web link to listen to it. I hope it touches you as much as it touches me. I wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Mary did you know that your baby boy would some day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Oh Mary did you know---

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again.
The lame will leap,is the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb---.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great--I--- AM---.
(Mark Lowry)


~ Mary Did You Know? ~

Christmas..the Good, Bad, and Ugly

It's Christmas time again. It's a time when I reflect the most on Jesus and Mary. Of course, no one in our day knows how Jesus or Mary looked. It's common sense to me to assume they looked like others in that area of the world. That area of the world is the middle east...a volatile place where religion takes on immense importance, and yet, the atrocities committed there seem inconsistent with the religions being practiced.

I'm an OB/GYN Nurse Practitioner. My job is to help women and the largest part of my job is managing the prenatal care of my patients. One of the things I do in my mind, especially at Christmas, is to look at my pregnant patients as if the baby they were carrying was Jesus. This is most difficult with my patients who have poor hygiene, poor education, and limited social skills. It challenges me to remember that God seems to specialize in doing things in "out of the ordinary" ways. Despite what the movies and pictures show, Mary may have been exactly like one of my difficult patients. I suspect God cared more about what was in Mary's heart and less on how others saw her.

Most of my clients are from other countries and cultures, mostly Hispanic, but recently I've seen more and more Middle Eastern women. I find myself looking at them and their husbands (yes, they all are married, unlike my American patients), and thinking about the fact that Mary and Jesus both probably looked much like they do. It's makes those patients,their husbands, and their culture more fascinating to me.

But I'm having one problem seeing Mary and Jesus in my middle eastern patients and their husbands because they also look like the terrorists from that region as well. I look at them and interact with them, and they seem very nice and no different from myself. I find myself thinking that the terrorists are probably nice and no different from me with the exception that they believe in what the are doing so strongly that they don't see their terrorist behavior as a contradiction.

So this Christmas things are a little more sobering for me...in every Mary and Jesus, I see a possible terrorist. In every terrorist, I see a possible Mary and Jesus. I've been forced to think more about the good in each of us...and the bad. I guess what makes me define myself as a Christian is my belief that because of God's gift of Jesus, we can all be forgiven for the bad and be raised up in our goodness.

I hope this Christmas that the Mary and Jesus in me will overshadow the terrorist in me. I hope for this in all people. Perhaps we could really have more peace on earth and good will to all.

Merry Christmas to you all.