Mary as a Mama

I've been thinking a lot this Christmas week about Mary as a mother.
As in, like a mommy, to her little baby.
All of the songs about Jesus in a manger, laying in the hay, have me wondering.
I don't doubt that she indeed wrapped him in swaddling cloths and put him in the manger, as the Bible says. If it didn't happen, it wouldn't be in there. However, how long do you really think she left him in there? What mother would put her newborn babe in a pile of hay and leave him there for long? I'm certain that she only set him in there for a little bit, maybe while she cleaned up the afterbirth or had the inkeeper bring her some food. Then she certainly must have grabbed her little one and held him close the rest of the night.

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Also, I wonder what kind of birth coach Joseph was. Clearly Mary had an unmedicated birth. Was she prepared for it? Was it a fast labor or long? How did our little Lord do with nursing? Being fully human, yet fully God, did that mean he did not present his mama with any difficulties those early weeks and months? Or, was he a normal little baby, keeping his mama up at all hours of the night, not being neither "good" nor "bad" but just a baby?

Nativity scenes depict a peaceful, serene setting, and while I know there was Peace in the Christmas story, surely only hours before that peaceful scene came to be, there was moaning, maybe even screaming, crying, and a big mess. Little did the inkeeper know perhaps the stable was the best place to send the couple, for his sake--not having to clean up from a birth.

And, as I've been thinking of Mary as a mama, I've come to not envy her one bit. How odd it must have been to have a child that is your own, yet not your own. Knowing she had to raise him only to one day watch him die. To know that it was not her will that be done, but that of the Father's. What a heart for her Father's will. I don't think I will ever attain that dedication, try as I might.

And my, the pressure and judgment she must have received as the boy Jesus grew. People watching to see if He will trip up, misbehave, sin. The other mothers may have thought Mary was conceited, what with her perfect son and all. Did she make mistakes as a mom? I'm sure she did, she was only human. But, did they affect our Lord? Or was he wise enough and full of grace enough to overcome His mother's mistakes and carry out the will of the Father? Did he have to be disciplined, or was his discipline innate?

There are so many thoughts about Mary in our culture and throughout various sects of religions, but little do we think of her as a mother. Mary, as a Mama.

Photo credit: adeiinthelife.blogspot.com