How Can the Christmas Story Teach Us About Birth?

It was likely sometime in the late summer months that Mary awaited the birth of her son, whom she would call Jesus. Like all mothers, Mary at some point realized that the weight of the world would be placed upon the shoulders of her child. Like us all, she could be reassured that her child was going to be brought forth in the perfection of the image of God and therefore uniquely equipped to do his work on this earth.

Another thing that Mary surely understood was that she was specially chosen to bring this new life into the world through the capabilities of her own body alongside that unconstrained power that placed him there in the first place. For birth is about releasing expectations and trusting that you are supported. It is knowing that just by the way your body was designed and grew this life, you are capable of bringing this life forward. In our modern world, what birth is all about hasn’t changed. It isn’t about dreading pain. It isn’t about wondering if “they” will let you do this or that. It isn’t about enduring it until it is over. It isn’t about being afraid and resigning to hope simply for a healthy baby. The child you carry is destined to impact the world. We may not know how, but we can know it is for certain. As the mother of this child, you matter. Mary is revered as holy by many of varying faiths. If giving birth is not sacred work, then what is? Birth, mamas, is about knowing. How this special and amazing child you carry comes into the world matters a great deal. How this child’s mother is revered before, during, and after the process of birth matters a great deal.

To prepare for birth, Mary prayed. She consulted her female family members and shared in the joys of their pregnancies. She was visited by angels and meditated on their words. She relied on and fell into the support of those who loved her. There is such peace for every mother. Giving birth to your child is a sacred event. It only makes sense that preparing for the birth is an undergoing of connecting to our bodies, our intuitions, learning from those who have gone before us, and interacting with the power that brought us to this full state of pregnancy. In birth, there is so much to learn about who we are in the scheme of what is the reality of our existence – that in all of us there is infinite potential and that potential wields immense power. Each and every one of us who is blessed to prepare for birth must know, that we are the keepers of that child’s spark and each moment of the process is holy. For unto us a child is born… 

Merry Christmas!!! Happy Holidays!!!  Love and blessings to you and your family.

~Kelli