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| c Kathryn Parton |
Absence Apology
I am so very sorry that I have not posted since forever! Life has been incredibly busy for us moving into our first home and preparing for our first child. But I'm back! And I can't promise when the next post will happen, but it will probably be after the New Year.
Silent Night
As a Child
Isaiah 9:6
Reflecting on the story of Christmas has always been an important thing in my family--be that while we are at church or just at home in front of the tree before going to bed on Christmas Eve. As a child I always thought of Christ and this wonderful, little King that came to the world in order to save us all with a horrific death 33 years later. How perfectly the holidays of Christmas and Easter are juxtaposed as peace and tragedy while both still carrying the same hopeful message of John 3:16--neither complete without the other.
As an Expecting Mother
Luke 1:30-38
But as I sit here expecting our sweet daughter in just a few week's time I find myself reflecting more on Mary, the Chosen Mother of God.
My pregnancy has been relatively straight forward and uncomplicated, but at 30 weeks we found out that I have pregnancy-induced hypertension. At 34 weeks we (finally) have the blood pressure under control with medicine, and every Monday we have NSTs (where Lily's heartbeat is monitored) and an ultrasound to check on her growth (she's 5 pounds as of last week!) and my fluid levels.
Then I think of all the running these two young people had to do to keep their little family safe and the idea that Mary never had any modern medicine to help her pregnancy and labor. I think of how scared Mary must have been to bring such an important child into the world. How would she ever parent him? Would she ever need to correct him? How blessed she must have felt to have Joseph. And she was so young. Some speculate she was only 14. She had no modern medicine to monitor her pregnancy. She had no modern technology to monitor Christ's growth, little heart, breathing practicing. It overwhelmed me to think of all the help I have that she did not. How did she manage that kind of fear?
Then it hit me: Her trust in God was unparalleled. She trusted God would watch over her, would watch over her child, and would watch over her husband. Sometimes, in this world full of modern medical wonders, it is easy to forget that sometimes the best thing we can do is just trust in God. My doctor even mentioned that at a visit where I was frustrated and strung out: God designed a pretty awesome system of carrying, protecting, and having children and I'd have to find some comfort in that, too.
God provided Christopher as a loving, wonderful husband that will protect Lily and I to the ends of the Earth. He provided good doctors to watch any of our slight hiccups. He has provided for me and my (comparatively unimportant, yet still precious) child just as he did for Mary and Christ. What a humbling and joyous realization.
Merry Christmas, everyone! Be safe, stay warm, and enjoy the company of your loved ones.
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
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| c Kathryn Parton |
