Silent Night Thoughts

Friends, it does not take much to turn me into a weepy mess. Singing an old hymn on Sunday mornings. A proposal on a Bachelor finale. Noticing how big my three-year-old's feet are getting.

Game over. Tears will flow abundantly. It's pretty embarrassing.

That video circulating right now of the kids picking gifts for their families over themselves? I straight up ugly cried. Twice.

Today at a stoplight, the Sidewalk Prophets’ version of Silent Night sent me into a tailspin of sobs. Yes. A Christmas carol that I have heard 2,446,761 times in my life hit me right in the feels.

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin Mother and Child,

Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

The lyrics got me thinking about Mary and, truthfully, all mothers.

There she was… a young, new mom with this precious baby in her arms. Hearing that song today, I could almost feel her heart swell as she looked at her newborn boy for the first time.

Moms, you know what I'm talking about. You carried that baby in your belly for nine months. Your back ached. You battled insomnia. You peed every ten minutes for the better part of a year. After all of that (and much more), you pushed out what surely felt like a boulder or endured an oh-so-fun c-section.

Then the nurse put that tiny human in your arms.

Magic.

Suddenly, the room was silent, calm, bright as you gazed down at this new life filled with so many possibilities. Suddenly, you didn't care that you possibly pooped during the delivery or that your husband will never unsee what he just witnessed your lady parts do. All you care about in that moment is this little baby.

I think about Mary as the shepherds came to greet Jesus. They told Mary the angels said to them that her baby lying in a manger is Christ the Lord. In Luke 2:19, Mary "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."

Now, I beam with pride when my toddler gains an AWANA patch. Can you imagine the pride you would have over angels calling your child the savior? And despite that pride, how overwhelmed you might be at the same time?

Motherhood is a blessing. No amount of questions your toddler asks in the span of an hour can change that. No amount of blow-outs in a day can change that. No amount of eyerolls from your teenager can change that. Motherhood is a gift whether you are Mary, Angelina Jolie or a single mom in the inner city.

So, back to Silent Night.

I’m not sure how I got all of this out of a Christmas song today, but moms, I know we are all knee-deep in wrapping paper and tinsel right now. Can I pray for silent nights for you this week? I pray that no matter how many tantrums our preschoolers throw or how much sass our middle-schoolers spew, that we can still see God chose us for these kids. Though sometimes I struggle to believe it for myself, He has equipped and trusted us to raise these kids. When Mary first learned of her pregnancy, she only replied with "I am a servant of the Lord." I pray that we can serve God with an attitude like that. I hope that we can trust God fully with not only our lives, but our kids’ as well.

I leave you with this. It really is a beautiful song. Thank you God for the precious gift of motherhood. Thank you so much for the gift of your son.