Mary's Christmas

For some reason today, I let lots of little things get me stressed and upset. So after a little bit of cleaning and when the baby stopped crying and went to sleep, I sat down and read an article out of the Ensign. It wasn't anything particularly special, just soothing. I got to ponder for a minute and remembered what I'd been thinking about a few days earlier--about Mary.

I've always thought about Mary especially during Christmastime, I guess because I'm a woman and I like to think about how she felt during this special time. She was young, probably younger than me, engaged to a good man who could have left her, living meagerly, heavy with child and traveling on a donkey(!!), gave birth in a stable without doctors or medication (well, that part I can understand now), and told by an angel that her child would be the Savior. Of all these things, the last thing would intimidate me the most. We're told Mary was a 'chosen vessel' and 'highly favored of God.' To me, she must have been as perfect as a woman could be to be the mother of Christ.

I'm grateful for the chance to be a mother this Christmastime to my own special angel. I know all woman have the innate ability to be nurturers and 'mothers' even without children. I'm grateful for my own mother who nurtured and taught me well. The other day while changing Sarah's diaper and clothes, I thought I wonder if Sarah will ever remember this and realize how much I do for her...and then, the humbling thought came in response, Wow, my mom did the same thing for me. How can I ever thank her enough? So one of my goals this Christmas is to follow the examples of love and charity..from Mary, to my mother, to the Savior himself. That's what Christmas is all about.