By Caroline S. Cooper |
Snow fell softly as a young woman stumbled into the local hospital in the waning hours of the day. Alone and terrified, she held onto her extended abdomen. This baby wanted to be born tonight. Of all nights.
“Help me.” She cried out as she doubled over in pain.
The emergency room nurse ran to her side and said, “We’ll take care of you, just hold on. What’s your name?”
“You’re not going to believe it,” the girl responded through clenched teeth. “My name is Mary. And I’m having my baby on Christmas Eve.”
The nurse smiled, settled Mary into a wheelchair, and moved with haste to the nearest maternity room.
Hours later, Mary held a newborn baby in her arms. Tears pooled in her eyes while a range of emotions tremored through her body. Fear, shame, regret, shock, and indescribable joy. What an irony that this Mary, who had distanced herself from God several years ago, had birthed a son on Christmas Eve.
“Don’t worry,” she said with a weak smile looking into his cloudy but beautiful eyes. “I’m not going to call you Jesus. What did God ever do for me anyway?”
Mary closed her eyes, holding the baby close, and thought about her family. She had been raised in a Christian home by loving parents with an older brother and a younger sister. Mary wondered what they were doing tonight. If she had to guess, she’d say they were attending the annual Christmas Eve service as a family. Minus one. Or make that two. She would not blame them if they had already written her off.
Mary had chosen to go her own way after high school. She had been blessed with beauty and brains, and gained a reputation as a talented drama student, appearing as a lead in many of the school’s musicals and plays during her final few years of high school. She had believed her good looks and bubbly personality would lead her to success as an actress or a model. She had no time for her parents’ goody-two-shoes lifestyle and example of Christian humility and service. But when her dreams fell through, Mary dreaded the idea of returning home. She wandered from job to job, and relationship to relationship. And look where that got her? Alone, with a baby, no money, no home. And her twentieth birthday still a couple of months away.
After the nurse checked in for the night and laid the babe in the crib beside her, Mary let herself drift off to sleep. She knew she would need it. And for tonight, she would not even think about the future.
When the sunlight broke through the curtains, Mary blinked her eyes and turned quickly towards the crib. The baby blinked back at her. More beautiful than the night before. A flurry of activity followed with nurses, doctors, tests, and, finally, more food. She had not had nutritious meals like this for a few months now. And then it was time for the conversation she had been dreading. A social worker from the hospital arrived with a clipboard and a packet of paperwork. But her eyes were empathetic, and her voice was kind.
“Mary, I understand you’re here by yourself. You have no home, no job, and no money. I’m sorry about that and I’d like to help. It’s very important for new mothers to have support from people who love them. So, I’d like permission to contact your family before we talk about other options. What do you think?”
A shiver ran through Mary as she sat in silence. Contact her family? After what she had put them through?
“Mary,” the woman continued as she placed a warm, motherly hand on hers. “I’m not really supposed to bring my faith into work, but I am feeling a strong urge to pray for you. Would that be okay?”
Mary’s shoulders slumped and without warning, tears ran down her face and soft sobs shook her body. She had not cried in a long time. And she had not prayed in an even longer time. She remembered her mother saying that God reveals himself in mysterious ways. When Mary left home, her mother had said, “Even if you don’t believe it right now, God is real. He is with you and wants you to come back to him. Be on the lookout for how he is working in your life. He loves you even more than your Dad and I.”
Could this be what was happening now? Was God showing up when she faced her greatest need?
The social worker sat quietly, patiently waiting for Mary to regain control.
Finally, Mary lifted her face, grabbed a handful of tissues, and responded, “Yes, please pray for me. And then, I’d like you to call my family.”
Christmas. A time to celebrate the birth of our Savior. To experience “Joy to the World” and peace on Earth. But not everyone rejoices, and the world is not at peace. Some struggle with sin and shame and don’t feel worthy to be welcomed into God’s family. Others are hungry, homeless, or heartbroken and wonder where God is in the chaos. Many are discouraged and dismayed by the events of the world.
But we who have hope can make a difference. We know the truth that can set the world free! Let us take the light of the Lord into a hurting and broken world. A world that needs a Savior. A world that needs Jesus.