Christmas Eve

Wonder. Watching a two year old light up, counting angels and cookies. Seeing the delight in an adult child's eyes when the favourite meal is prepared. Anticipating the joy on faces of family when presents are given and shared, when breakfast is made together, when turkey is ready. Hearing voices of family that is away, long phone calls, cards exchanged and letters read.
I have noticed that some of my posts are starting with just a word- and I may just keep this up! It helps me to focus on what to write! Wonder is a lovely feeling, right up there with anticipation. I feel awe when I think of Mary, pregnant and single, traveling on a donkey so far from home, to give birth alone (we assume) in a stable. Giving birth is a sacred time, when women receive the gift of motherhood and join with all women of all time in a sisterhood like no other. But did she have her mother there to support her? A chosen midwife? A best friend? A doula? Or was her husband her only support in a time when to be such was not the place for a man but a woman? Birth is not gentle, not typically easy for a first time mother, not a time to be alone- yet, what do we know of Mary during her time? So today, I think of Mary.
I also think with wonder of Joseph. Jesus' step-dad. In a time when, again, this was way outside of the way things were done! He was in the place of his family, in Bethlehem, but evidently had no one there to support them- otherwise, they would have a room. So alone, left to enjoy the wonder of their son's birth together- yet not alone!
The angels, God's messengers. I wonder what that must have been like, with them lighting up the sky and singing! Can you imagine? I would love to have something like that happen, to feel it, to absorb it, to be part of it- or would I simply bow in awe?
Tonight we will go to a service, sing carols and hear the story that never grows old. I know this is a time for my adult children to be building their own traditions with their own families. I hope they find joy, find wonder and experience peace! I will remember that evening, 26 years ago today, when I started on my own journey to join the sisterhood of women as a mother. A pivotal moment in my own life, it has brought me more joy than I could ever hope for- and is a reason why I have built a life on helping other women to find the same joy, to become mothers of their own families. And I hope that as I think of this, I will contemplate my sisterhood with the Mother of Jesus-  and let my soul magnify the Lord!