Please welcome Bethany Grove from Gracefull Country Diva! Thank you, Bethany, for writing today’s post!
Parenting . . . the task of raising little people into productive adults.
Life was great when they were little, right? All their “firsts” brought me such joy. Each little thing they did was so cute and I loved watching the light bulbs turn-on when they learned something new.
Things were great and life seemed easy – but then, they grew-up and things weren’t always so easy.
Growing up means more issues and sometimes those issues are easy to solve. But sometimes they aren’t.
One of the hardest parts of being a parent is fighting the urge to jump-in and fix your child’s problems. It’s easy to get defensive, protective and even confrontational.
Yes, I have felt all of these feelings before. There have been times I’ve had to stay away from issues and people just so I could let my kids handle things because if I stepped in . . . well, let’s just say it wouldn’t have been pretty.
When my kids are in pain my motherly instinct kicks-in because I want to make it better and take it away. I want to see smiles on my children’s faces again. I want everything to be OK.
After all, they’re my babies and I can’t stand to see them hurting.
However, sometimes it’s just not possible to fix what is hurting your child.
Sometimes you have to surrender your children to God and let Him take over. He always has a plan and His will is always done, regardless of the age of our children.
I don’t think the feeling of wanting to fix what is hurting my children will stop when they’re adults – even when I surrender them to God. I’m only human and my protective feelings for them will never change.
In Chapter Two of Not a Silent Night
This wasn’t easy for her but somehow, she put her feelings aside and surrendered her son to God. She didn’t understand His will but she trusted His plan – much like she did when she told Gabriel “May it be so” after hearing she would give birth to the Messiah.
But her trust in His plan didn’t squelch the emotions swirling around in her mama heart.
As a fellow mother, I’m certain she felt guilty and helpless because there was nothing she could do to stop the events of that day.
Maybe she felt angry because someone had betrayed her son and others were torturing him.
Perhaps she felt nostalgic because she was thinking back to what she pondered in her heart on the day He was born.
She likely felt pain as she watched the Roman soldiers drive nails into the palms of her son.
She most certainly felt love because once a mother loves, it never stops. Jesus was her son, her own flesh and blood, no matter why he was sent to this earth.
Lastly, I’m sure she felt hopeful because she knew her son’s death would fulfill God’s promise – the promise that He will save the world.
This array of emotions scream from the hearts of mothers everywhere.
In this chapter, author Adam Hamilton points-out that Mary was warned she would inevitably feel this way and her son was meant to die.
“When Mary took Jesus to Simeon he told her that “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” (Luke 2:34-35)
I’m sure her mind went back to this time while she watched her son hang on the cross. She must have finally understood what Simeon was trying to tell her.
But the one thing she probably never understood was how her son’s sacrifice would offer salvation and peace to the world. I’m sure she wasn’t feeling much peace as she watched Him being crucified.
During Jesus’ time, the Greeks and Romans sacrificed animals to receive blessings while the Jews sacrificed animals to atone for their sins and offer thanksgiving. They sacrificed animals to obtain salvation.
However, Jesus was meant to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. No longer would innocent animals need to shed blood for atonement or thanksgiving. He took-on every sin we could ever commit and shed His own blood so we could be free.
But here’s the real question . . .
What does Jesus’ death have to do with his birth?
He was born to die. He came to earth to be the sacrificial lamb meant to atone for all of our sins.
As Hamilton says, “The profound gift of Christmas is our salvation and forgiveness.”
Without Jesus on the cross, we would never be saved and if He had never been born, he would not have been on the cross.
A baby was sent to this earth to grow into a wonderful teacher. Later, he would be tortured and pierced by nails, left to hang on a cross so we could all be saved.
We must first understand why Jesus was sent to the world to fully understand the gravity of his birth. Without completely understanding the cross, his birth means nothing.
Mary was beyond blessed to raise Him but she had to do the one thing every mother dreads – surrender her son to His Father just so He could die.
Her own amazing sacrifice led to the rescue of the world.
So this week, please respond to one or as many of the following in the comment section:
So many mothers allow their children to serve in times & places that place them in danger in the military or missions for example. In some ways that is an offering up of that child to God for his purposes. That has not been my calling, but even watching my adult children suffer in situations I am unable to change gives me a slight understanding of the pain Mary felt and the strength required of her. What an amazing example she is to each of us.
Hi Connie. I never even thought about the fact that surrendering our children to God is what ever parent of a military member does, but you are so right. I know it can’t be easy to do that and has to be very scary. I love the example that Mary is, she is one amazing woman.
What I love about Mary is that she sets the bar for me as a mother regarding my faith level. I don’t believe that I, in my own strength, could respond the way Mary did to all the sacrifices God asked of her regarding birthing and raising the Messiah. But God’s word tells me I can do ALL things, not just some, through his strength.
I think that if we were ever to really quiet our hearts and minds and give all the consideration to the cross it deserves. If we were ever able to look at the cross with eyes of repentance and a heart that was so broken and willing to be made whole then everyone would understand the cross.
I have never, until this year, linked Christmas and Easter so closely until this years’ advent stories. Not just this one either. It seems that there is a common message across the board among the teachers of the gospel this year. Up until now, for me, his birth and resurrection have always been two different things. I think that is what I have loved the most about Chapter two. That has been what has spoken to my heart the most. I am loving this study. :)
I think what you said about looking at the cross as broken and willing humans is where the problem truly lies. We think that we can do everything by ourselves and don’t need God to fix us and when that happens, we will never truly be broken. So, this leads to never understanding the cross wholly. I, too, had never linked Easter and Christmas. They are two separate holidays and I never took the time to find out they are not separate, but in fact, you can’t have one without the other.
About a year or so ago, I read the book
Radical by David Platt. At one point, he talks about someone that was lead to minister to a group of cannibals. I remember thinking that I know my children are not mine. I know God has a divine purpose for them. But I also remember thinking that I hope so badly, for myself, that he has a peaceful plan-free from pain for them. And I realized how, even though I know God loves them more than I ever could, and He knows what is best in the ultimate plan, I like my control and hope God can find a way to use them where it doesn’t break my heart. And I wonder if Mary hoped that Simeon’s words wouldn’t end up as true as they did. I actually read what Simeon said to Mary a few days ago in an advent activity and thought, “Ouch! That would hurt for a mother to hear.”
I have to agree with what you said. :) I think that I would be praying every single day that Simeon’s words would not end up coming true, but knowing that God’s will is always done, I would try to spend every moment with my kids and make as many memories as I could. I think that Simeon had already pierced her soul when he spoke those words. Thank you so much for sharing.
Giving up my son in this way is not something I can even fathom…not a bit. You made a point in raising our own children how difficult it is to suppress that “Mama Bear” instinct…taking that to the level in which Mary was forced to is unimaginable to me. I truly have a hard time wrapping my head around what she must have been feeling. Connie’s point about Military moms is so very true. I always thank families whose children serve for us, but I never really termed what they do as a sacrifice…but it certainly is.
The fact that Jesus was probably not high in the air on the cross moved me…I never knew that. The idea that May might have been able to touch her son through his torture and death had me weeping.
The author’s tradition of a spike on his Christmas tree near the trunk is wonderful…what a powerful reminder for a family. I am planning on beginning that next year in our home.
Thank you for this study.
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After reading this chapter it really made me wonder… Did Mary always have Simeon’s voice in the back of her mind as Jesus grew? Was every moment and milestone that more ingrained into her because it may be her last memory of Him?
I, also, found the details of a crucifixion interesting…the cross only being 2-3 ft off the ground. Mary must have embraced Him or held Him. She must have flashed back to the quiet time of His birth when she sat and pondered what had just happened.