When ladies get together for a baby shower, you can be sure of one thing: stories will be told! Some ladies love swapping labor and delivery stories. I really don’t think it’s about “my experience was worse/better than yours”. Truthfully, I think some part of us feels either that we are heroes for what we endured, or that we’re still amazed at how relatively easy our experience was compared to some. Either way, any gal will tell you that her protruding pregnant belly seemed to push invisible let-me-tell-you-my-story-and-give-you-some-advice buttons on friends, relatives, and sometimes even strangers!

I imagine it would have been much the same if Mary and Elizabeth and other women in their extended family had gathered at a party to bless the newest mother-to-be in their midst. No doubt birthing stories would have been swapped! No doubt Elizabeth told about the miracle of finally becoming pregnant in her old age, and how quiet the house was until Zechariah could speak again! ¹ Ladies’ stories would no doubt include descriptions of who stepped in to mid-wife, or if their husband was called upon to help, and the #1 detail of every woman’s story: How long their labors lasted! Eventually it would be Mary’s turn. 

“Well, when the angel Gabriel came and told me that I was going to have God’s Son, it took a few minutes before I could wrap my head around what that would mean for me. But as I realized God was choosing me to be the girl Isaiah had prophesied about, I told him, okay, this is God’s plan, so of course, I’ll do it! 

“Once Joseph was on board, (which required his own angelic intervention), we had our wedding ceremony and he got started right away making preparations for Jesus.² You should have seen the cradle he built for Him! But when Caesar Augustus said we all had to go to our hometown to register, our plans were, to say the least, upset. We had to go to Bethlehem, and brought only essentials like clothes and food for the journey and swaddling clothes for Jesus.³ (It broke my heart to leave that beautiful cradle behind.) The journey to Bethlehem was truly difficult. I didn’t want to focus on that though, so I spent a lot of time just thinking about what the angel had said. “God would give Jesus the throne of David and He would reign over the house of Jacob forever! Jesus would be our King!” Thinking about all that and, if I have to be honest, also thinking about the bed I would get to sleep on once we got there, helped keep my mind off our miserable travel.

“When we got to Bethlehem, our expectations deflated again. I had hoped that since I was going to be delivering the Messiah that God would have someplace nice waiting for us! I dreamed for a chance to bathe and a for a chance to rest comfortably. Turns out we should have arrived days earlier if we wanted a room in an inn. Most of you ladies probably know that we ended up in a barn. 

“You can’t imagine the smells—and of course while I was in labor those smells intensified with each labor pain! Poor Joseph! He didn’t stop looking helpless and worried until finally Jesus was born. During all of this I’m sure he had the same thoughts going through his mind that I did, that it sure would be nice if Gabriel would show up again! He could have offered us reassurance that even though we were in a barn with animals, and our sweet Jesus was laying on scratchy hay in a feeding trough, we still were on track to see God’s plan for us carried out. But that didn’t happen, and he and I both just laid on our own hay bed and fell asleep to the sound of mice scurries.

“Later, long before morning, we woke up as shepherds came to see the baby! They said that an angel actually had come to them announcing that a Savior had been born, and they’d watched a whole choir of angels singing praises to God! Their story encouraged Joseph and me more than you can know. After they left, it took me quite awhile to fall back asleep. The shepherd’s visit had brought such reassurance that all God had promised really was happening. I don’t know how to describe what I felt that night. Maybe awe. For sure our circumstances didn’t have “Messiah, Savior, or King” painted all over them, but that night I learned God could be present and working no matter our circumstances. 

“I would never wish a long journey for any of you young ladies when you’re due date is imminent! (But if for some unexpected reason that happens, tell your husband that you insist on arriving in plenty of time to get a comfortable room!) Over the years I’ve thought about that night many times when my circumstances haven’t aligned with my expectations, and I remind myself that God depends neither on my circumstances nor my picture perfect expectations to bring about His promises. He just needs my humble trust and obedience…Now, let’s have some raisen cakes!” 

Oh Lord, help me to always keep trusting You even if the “hay” I‘m experiencing is crushing my expectations. Keep me focused on Your promises. And Lord, never stop reminding my heart to humbly sift through the hay to find Jesus.  

1. Luke 1:5-25
2. Luke 2:1-20
3. Matthew 1:18-25)