Favored- Part Five

 THE LULU CHRONICLES

Hey, dear friends,

     Below you will find the final post of the year. As I write this large snowflakes are falling outside and pine branches are bowed with heavy snow. A white Christmas is a shoe-in. I wanted to take a moment to wish you and yours a blessed and merry Christmas. Rejoice in our Savior's birth. Fall on your knees in thanksgiving for the life He led. And, bow your head in praise for the sacrifice of love He made on that splinter-filled cross. Our world is not at peace. Our country is in mourning, yet because of that divine birth, spirit-filled life, His holy death and finally the empty, hollow tomb, we, who believe, have hope. My prayer for you is that you live that Hope everyday. Embrace it. Make it yours. Allow it to transform you into a light, a city set on a hill, a beacon for the hurting to run toward. Merry Christmas and God bless you...

FAVORED- PART FIVE

(CONTINUED)

The actual birth came swiftly.  Before Mary and Joseph knew it, they were both staring into the tiny face of a squirming God.  Lying on his mother's belly, the infant found his thumb while trying to focus his eyes upon his mother.  Joseph began the ritual of wiping the infant down with salt and cautiously swaddling him in the clean cloth.

             Many of Mary’s questions were answered at once--he was just a baby; no bright flashes of Gabriel; and yes, she could not deny the presence of God all about her.  She knew that if she could but scratch the air only slightly, God would be visible just on the other side.

            The new mother glanced between her newborn and her speechless husband.  Which was more precious to her now?  How quickly love expanded to include a child.  The three of them bonded instantly and irreversibly became a family.  That was just as much a miracle as the conception thought Mary. 

            Tears began streaming down her cheeks spilling upon the infant's round head.  Mary lay back on her bed of hay while cradling her son in her arms.  Joseph wrapped them both in a blanket and stepped outside into the night air in relief.

            Mary looked into the scrunched face of her baby.  His cheeks were as the soft moss on the banks of a stream.  His fingers smelled like new grass in spring.   God had indeed favored her with such sweetness.  Yet, Mary dared not fool herself--the price of favor was also usually bought with sorrow.  But she would not think of that now.  She was tired.  The infant was drifting to sleep.  The mother pulled her son near to her face and whispered,  "While you are in my care, you will be safe, my love.  My soul exalts you and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my Savior.  My little one, I will give you the best part of me forever.  Whatever you call me to do, I will do.  Wherever you call me to go, I will go. ” 

            Sleep came swiftly to mother and child.

            While the heavens dance, twirled and cheered, God smiled.  Hope was born on this day, and the God of all creation proclaimed it good--very, very good.

                           The Beginning.