Mother of All Mothers

If you are like me, you vividly remember the day you discovered that you were expecting your first child! Back in my day, there were no home kits with "dip sticks" to check out what you suspected in the privacy of your home. No, we had to see a doctor, empty into a cup, and wait for the results in a stiff, sterile environment. When Larry and I went to the doctor, it wasn't for a suspected pregnancy, but for a suspected bladder infection. Imagine our shock and awe when the doctor came in with chart in hand and wide, toothy grin on his face proclaiming, "You don't have a bladder infection---you're PREGNANT!!!" WHAT????? How did THAT happen? Although being a mommy was a lifelong dream, I was not expecting that news at that time. We had been married only 9 months, I was a college sophomore, and I had just exited the teen years into the 20's. I was too young to be a mommy, or so I thought.
As we left the doctor's office, walking on wet noodle legs, we rode the elevator down to Mize Department store. My sweet man said he wanted to buy something for me to celebrate the news so he led me to a display case of costume jewelry. Through the swirling tornado of thoughts in my mind, I managed to choose a lavender and purple choker with a pink metal flower in the center. I still have that commemorative choker to this day!

As the shock began to wear off, and nausea and body changes set in, we excitedly awaited the arrival of our surprise gift! Finally, 9 days after the estimated arrival date, the pain began and sixteen hours later, Jason Redding Harris was born! What a monumental moment when they placed my baby boy in my arms for the first time. As we were left alone in our temporary hospital home, I looked into the face of the most beautiful creation my eyes had beheld. Then a very prophetic thing happened. Jason turned his orange, peach fuzz covered head toward me and looked straight into my eyes as if to say,  "Look out mama! Here I am!" As God is my witness, my head began to swim and I had to lay my head back to keep from fainting. All those years of playing mommy, changing pretend wet diapers, gently rocking my sweet smelling plastic babies, was now a reality and my baby was REAL and ALIVE!!! As most mommies feel at this indescribable moment, my mind was awhirl with wonder, joy, excitement, and the question of  "what is ahead and what will this child turn out to be?"

For all of the wonderment and amazement of becoming a mommy that I felt as I held this precious baby entrusted to us by God, there is another mother who must have experienced those same feelings, only to a degree and level of wonder that you and I can only imagine. As you probably surmise, I am speaking of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. This young maiden's holy calling as mother to the Savior of the world is an event that we cannot ignore in our quest in becoming the best mothers we can be. Mary was a normal young girl living in her parents' modest home, dreaming of the day she and Joseph would be married. She had all the same emotions you and I have, yet she was marked by God for a calling too high to comprehend. Raised in a strict, Hebrew home, she knew of the prophesied Messiah to come, the One who would save Israel from the cruel captivity they had been in for hundreds of years; the One who would set mankind free. Little did she suspect that she would be the one to usher the Christ child into the world. Yet one ordinary day in the life of this young woman, the heavens opened and the angel Gabriel appeared to her proclaiming, "Rejoice, highly favored one. The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" Luke 1:28. He then proceeded to tell her that God had chosen her to be the virgin mother of the Son of the Highest of whose Kingdom there would be no end. Can you imagine the shock and awe of Mary at this news? After a short conversation with Gabriel, Mary responded with a statement that is an example to all of us as to the way we should respond to the ways of God in our lives. "Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be done to me according to your word." And with that her journey began as the mother who would give birth to and raise a Son who would be born to die for the sins of mankind.
The way Mary submitted to God's will for her life is a great example for us moms in regard to raising our kids. You will probably hear me say often that raising kids is not an easy task; but it would be far more difficult for the one who does not know God Almighty and His Son as Savior. To not have Him to lean on, pray to, and go to for wisdom would be like hiking through an underground cave with no light. When Mary submitted to the will of God, she did not totally know what was in store for her or her Son. But she trusted God with the journey ahead. He guided her as she raised His Son, and He carried her as she walked through the most horrible sacrifice a mother could have to make. He is there for you, too, and does not expect you to do this calling alone.

Mary's example can teach us a great deal and the next time we meet we will talk about her a bit more. Until then, know that I am in this with you and I am praying for you. Even though I may not know who I am praying for exactly, God knows, and I will never stop lifting you up as you walk in your calling as a mother.

"Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children." Lamentations 2:19