By Dannah Gresh, Founder of True Girl
Read Luke 2:1-7
“And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because...”
Luke 2:7
Bob and I hoped we would never have a Christmas baby. You see, we are both Christmas babies. My birthday is on December 17th and Bob’s is on December 20th. As a kid, this actually is not a lot of fun. None of your friends can ever come over to celebrate because everyone is too busy. Alas, we had our second baby on December 28th!
I had one of the most terrible head colds I’ve ever experienced. I could hardly breathe. I went to see my doctor who revealed that though I’d not felt so much as a twinge of cramping, I was about to have a baby! The doctor was unhappy and I could see it. I overheard him talking to the nurse about how bothered he was and wondered if there was any miraculous way I’d be “finished” before 5:00 so he could go home to a party he was having. It was already after lunchtime.
I didn’t feel very welcome.
But it was a fleeting sadness. Nothing. No, nothing could have made the birthday of my beautiful baby anything but perfect. At 4:55p.m. My daughter came into the world with an itty bitty holler—all her tiny lungs could muster. (And my doc made it to his party on time.) Apparently, this baby wanted to get on to the party of life and was going to enter it as noisily as she possibly could.
The very first thing Bob did when he got a hold of her was to wrap her up as tightly as he could in one of those warm, wonderful swaddling blankets. And then he placed her in my waiting arms. That baby was not only wrapped tightly in a blanket. She was wrapped in love. And I think she knew it.
She quieted.
And slept.
Mary’s birth experience wasn’t ideal. She and Joseph had just traveled to Bethlehem to be counted in the census and taxed. Her body must have ached after the long journey from her hometown, which would have been about 80 miles away. Tradition tells us she made it on the back of a donkey. It is likely that she’d been traveling for about one week when she went into labor. Oh ouch! That makes my cold look so simple, doesn’t it?
And talk about feeling unwelcome. At least my doctor came to the hospital and checked me in. Mary had no doctor. Not even a midwife, as she would have had back home in Nazareth. And no one was going to check her into a hospital at all. The innkeeper let her have the animal stable as her labor and delivery room.
Still, I am quite certain that Mary forgot those aches from the journey and barely had a nose for the manure in the stable. Nothing. No, nothing would ruin the birth of her first son. I imagine Joseph, who served as her assistant in the delivery, wrapped that baby as tightly as he could and handed him to Mary.
Jesus quieted.
And slept.
Mom+Daughter mini-date: Go for a long Christmas walk to get any idea of the walk Mary endured before the birth of Jesus. As you walk, let your Mom tell you about the day you were born. If you were adopted, listen to the story of your Gotcha Day! Consider Mary and Jesus’ first day as you walk.
If you’ve enjoyed this Mother+Daughter Devo, consider having devos with your daughter all year long using the True Girl subscription, her new Bible Study BFF! Intentionally packed with your tween (7-12) girl in mind, it’s full of daily devos to get her in the Word, mom+daughter dates that get you connecting, and exclusive bonus items from True Girl and other ministries we trust! It’s the most fun you’ll ever have digging into God’s Word together at home. Order now to get it in time to start her first devo on January 1st!
True Girl theme verse:
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32
Mom, the best way to teach your daughter to live like an authentic True Girl is to live like an authentic True Woman. And to do that, you've got to get your life lined up with the Truth of the Bible. Listen to Dannah Gresh every weekday on Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts podcast. The program features biblical teaching, interviews that offer godly advice, and other opportunities to abide in God's Word.
