God took one good look at me, and look what happened — I’m the most fortunate woman on earth! Luke 1:49 (MSG)
The Wonder of It All – The Rebirth Series – Part 1
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5
Finally, all was quiet.
Noise gave way to smell and sight. Light broke through the cracks in the walls, the dust danced in its rays, and if you followed a single speck, you’d see it land on the baby asleep in his mother's arms. He smelt as new as the first day.
Blood and wine lingered in the air, she could still taste it… the sweet and bitter mix. Some time had passed since her bloodied clothes and ruined tunic had been taken away, and the thick red stains had been washed from her skin, but as with all women who birth life from their own bodies, blood still flowed from her emptying womb. What was once one, was now two but still somehow joined in a new way that could she could only describe as holy.
Yes, that’s it, she thought as she picked at the salt gathered beneath her nails.
As soon as he was free of her body, the cord that joined them had been severed. They washed him with wine and water, anointed him with oil and salt, wrapped him, and laid him in her arms. Where he's been ever since.
This new and holy bond was more powerful than she'd imagined: it threatened to rip her heart in pieces and fill it up with joy all the same time.
She kissed his head. He stirred and nuzzled into her chest: eyes squinting, mouth working, looking for sustenance. Her breasts swelled with milk as she opened her tunic and fed her newborn baby. There in the dark, her mind went back to the birth.
There was more blood than she expected. And more pain.
Goodness, the pain was unbearable, but in a miraculously bearable kind of way.
During the pregnancy, she often wondered what this particular birth would be like. Would it be different? She had seen women give birth before, even assisted the midwives when her mother was delivering her younger brothers and sisters. She knew what to expect.
Yet still, she had wondered if his birth would be the same? Would there be blood? Pain? What does one expect when giving birth to the Messiah?
Of course, she didn’t talk about it. She couldn’t. As it was, she was endlessly questioned about her swelling belly. She and Joseph were not married when the baby started to grow inside her, and she wanted to squash the scandal as much as possible and save what was left of her dignity. And that of her father’s.
Still, she silently wondered, doubted, questioned… had the Angel really visited her? Was what he said true? Was there any way she could know for sure?
Now, in her dimly lit room, Joseph asleep beside her, her new child – Oh this promised miraculous child – drinking his fill from her, she was struck by the humanity of it all.
It was absolutely, utterly Divine.
She held a secret in her arms. A hidden promise, a vulnerable hope. A soft laugh escaped her lips, and her body shuddered. Even though she had climbed down from the heights of pain, it still thudded through her; a reminder of the power and capacity of her body.
Her own body. God’s own son.
Ridiculous.
Unbelievable.
Holy.
What now?
How would they raise this child? What was Joseph feeling? Where would they live? Do they tell people? Or keep this secret hidden away in their hearts to be revealed in time? Perhaps the Angel would visit again and tell them what to do next?
But there in the darkness, the day after she gave birth to the boy they had already called Jesus even though his naming day had not yet come, Mary pushed the fear aside, at least for now, and smiled at the wonder of it all.
Go to Re-birth is Easy to Type – The Rebirth Series – Part 2
Written by Liz Milani
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