Last year at this time, I was expanding by the moment, sleeping with 4 pillows, and could barely walk to the end of the driveway without being winded to the point of exhaustion. I was 9 months pregnant and scheduled to bring a baby into this world by the end of the year.
It would be sac religions to compare myself to the Virgin Mary, so righteous and pure in her commitment to the call, and Jude was certainly no Messiah, but nevertheless, I felt a bit more sympathetic to her quandary. In fact, when we went to the hospital several hours into my labor to find that all the birthing rooms were full and we would have to start out in triage, I heard the words, “no room in the inn.”
40 hours later, Jude Davis McQueary was born, and Caleb and I were beside ourselves…completely overwhelmed with the miracle of birth, and the daunting responsibility ahead of us.
I guess there’s a part of me that wishes the Bible would have zoomed in on Mary during Jesus’ newborn years; I’d like to know how she handled the sleep deprivation, or if Christ was so perfect, he slept through the night from the get go. I wonder if she felt the pressure to breastfeed exclusively for the first year, or if she occasionally sent Joseph on his camel to pick up some formula. I’d like to know if she did everything right, and if Jesus was in the top 50% percentile on the growth charts. I suppose that’s why they included the Scripture in Luke 2:12, “Mary kept these things and pondered them in her heart.” Because no one likes a bragger…
As parents, Caleb and I have stumbled through and found our way, loving every second with our personal, fun-loving, now-into-everything, bundle of joy. Our year has been filled with memories and laughter, frustration and...well, spit up. We could not be more thankful for the gift we received last year at Christmas, who has indeed made all of our days Merry and Bright.
Thank you for sharing in our journey, and may your 2012 be lit up with abundant joy as well!
Merry Christmas with Love,
Caleb, Jody, and Jude
No comments:
Post a Comment