From Messy to Miracle

Lately, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the birth of Jesus. I mean after all, it’s the Christmas season and everywhere you look there’s a nativity scene. 

Nativity scenes are still-life, perfect pictures of how we envision the birth of Christ. A sweet “everyone in place, baby smiling, animals behaving, angels singing” picture.

You’ve probably heard the story all your life. An angel visits Mary and tells her she is going to be the mother of the Savior of the world and His Father will be God. Mary says “yes” to the angel (see my post She Said Yes). Joseph is freaked out, but an angel visits him, and he agrees to follow God’s plan as well. Mary and Joseph travel a long way to Bethlehem and are turned away at the inn because there’s no room for them. The next scene is the one with the Baby lying peacefully in the manger, smiling. Mary and Joseph are on either side of Him, smiling (of course) as they gaze in admiration and love at the holy Child. Animals surround them and also appear to look adoringly at the Child.

But maybe we can be real for a few moments and think about what was really going on. Are you game?

Mary

First, let’s take Mary. She was young – some believe 14 or 15 years of age – and was a virgin. She had never been intimate with any man, including Joseph. She was nine months pregnant and had just traveled many miles on a donkey.  If you’ve ever been nine months pregnant, the back of a donkey is the LAST place you would choose to be. I’m guessing her labor pains started during that bumpy ride.

Next, Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem to find all the inns are full and there’s no place for them to sleep (and for her to have the baby) except in a stable. At this point, bent over with another contraction, you know she’s thinking, “Joseph, why didn’t you call ahead and get reservations? Now I have to deliver this baby in a STABLE??? What were you thinking?” Okay, maybe that’s not what she was thinking, but it’s definitely what I would have been thinking.

Mary was facing imminent childbirth without a midwife or her mother or anyone from her family to help her.  How scared do you think she was? Does the word “terrified” come to mind? Guess who had to help her deliver the baby? That’s right, Joseph. Remember, they had never been intimate . . . but now he had to deliver her baby? 

If you’ve had a child, you know there’s a lot of screaming, accusation, and pain. Wait, that might have just been me. But you get my drift, right? She had contractions. She had no anesthetic. She surely screamed at some point as Jesus was born. And Joseph was there to catch the baby. The baby who cried when he was born. The baby who was wrapped in swaddling cloths and placed on his sweaty, tear-stained mother’s chest.

Joseph

So, let’s move on to Joseph. He had probably seen the births of animals in the fields, but men didn’t deliver babies. That was the job of the midwife, but since there wasn’t one, he had to step up. He listened to Mary’s moans and screams. What if he messed this up? This was the Son of God. I’m sure Joseph prayed a lot that night.

When all was finally quiet, Mary and Joseph finally had time to look around the stable. Amid the animals, the donkey poop, and the less-than-sanitary conditions, a miracle had occurred. 

Take-aways

God can use our doubts.

He can use our messy.

He can use our begrudging obedience.

Did any of Mary and Joseph’s circumstances make them trust God less? NO!

Just like Mary and Joseph, we can trust God in the middle of our circumstances, too. Those messy, painful, unexplainable circumstances that have us questioning “why?” God can and will use them to make something beautiful.

Something beautiful happened that night. A Savior was born. The perfect Son of God was born because two inexperienced, terrified teens who had said “Yes” to God were willing to be used to deliver the miracle that would change the world. 

Full disclosure: We had this discussion in my Sunday School class last week (the Sunday before Christmas). The ladies in my class are amazing, with knowledge and insight beyond their years, knowledge that could only come from God.