Luke 1: 30-31 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus.”
Every Christmas season one of my favorite songs gets played often. The name of this song is Mary, Did You Know? This song was written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene. It asks Mary many questions about the birth of her son and how His life will change the world. She too was a human just like each of us. The God in Heaven picked her to be this baby boy's mom. This small town girl was picked for such a time as this. I am sure she had no idea that being the mother of the Savior would bring such heartache for her. Throughout Jesus’s life, she had many moments of joy and pride as she watched Him mature. Yet she also witnessed Him being persecuted and finally crucified. I can’t imagine watching your child being spat on, and whipped beyond recognition. She then witnessed His final hours having nails driven into the hands that once held hers. I wonder if she ever questioned if the pain was worth being His mom.
The realization that I would have a baby came not in the form of an angel but through the announcement of a lab worker. I then waited about eight months in anticipation to see if I would have a boy or a girl. After the pain of childbirth, I had a tiny baby girl placed on my belly and she would from that moment on become Katie. So many hopes and dreams I had for this little girl. Then, in a different year, on July 2nd, my dream for my daughter became a nightmare when we had to remove her from life support after an aneurysm took all that made her Katie. So much pain in those early years. Yet, would I change ever having this daughter in my life for seventeen years? If the Lord would have asked me this question, “Michele, I am sending you a baby girl and her name will be Katie. She will bless your life, but you can only have her for seventeen years.” What would my answer have been. It would be a resounding YES! She was worth every minute and every tear I have shed.
Lord, I thank You for the blessing of being Katie’s mom even if it was only for seventeen years here on earth. One day we will reunite for all eternity. What a celebration awaits me!
– Michele
