Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men. Luke 2:14 (TPT)

What's Next Series – Part 1

Go to PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5

She sighed. Finally, all was quiet.

Noise gave way to smell and sight: the light breaking in through cracks in the wall, dust dancing in it's rays, landing on the head of the baby asleep her in arms who smelt as new as the first day.

Blood and wine lingered in the air, she could still taste them… the sweet and bitter mix. They had long since removed her bloodied clothes, washed the thick red stains 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 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 gathering beneath her nails.

This bond they still shared even though they were now separate, threatened to rip her heart in pieces and fill it up with joy all the same time. As soon as he was free of her body, the cord that joined them was severed. They washed him in wine and water, anointed him with oil and salt, wrapped him, and laid him in her arms. Where he has been ever since.

She kissed his head. He stirred, nuzzling 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, sucking noises breaking through the calm quiet that had settled over the house, 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.
Why she had expected it to be any different? During the pregnancy, she often wondered what this particular birth would be like. Would it be different? She had seen women during the birthing process before, even assisted the midwives when her mother was delivering her younger brothers and sisters. She knew what to expect.

Yet still, she 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 only asked the usual questions. As it was, she was endlessly questioned about her swelling belly. She and Joseph had not yet wed when her baby started to grow inside her, and she wanted to downplay the scandal as much as possible to 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?

But now, here in her dimly lit room, Joseph sleeping 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, completely Divine.

She held a secret in her arms. A hidden promise, a vulnerable hope. A soft laugh escaped her lips, and her body shuddered. She felt as though she had been torn in two and hastily put back together again, and even though she had climbed down from the heights of pain, it still thudded through her; a reminder of the power of her body.

Her own body. God’s own son.

Ridiculous.
Unbelievable.
Holy.

What was to come? What would happen next?

How would they raise this child? What was Joseph feeling? Would they be able to afford his training? 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?

She had no answers, she didn’t know what was to come.

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.

Written by Lizzy Milani.

Go to Part 2 – Do Not Yield »

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