Mother’s Passion

Feet I kissed

Tiny toes counted

Now it is lashes, falls, bones that are numbered

Feet pierced and bloodied

I held you
Carried you on my hip

Slept beside you at night

Our bodies curved to fit perfectly 

Nursed away teething pain

Spent long hours soothing, singing, swaying 

Now you are held by nails

No way for me to offer comfort or release

It is your lifeless form I shall hold against my breast

Willing my broken heart to raise you up

Long hours of pain, agony, searing loss

December 15th - Mary

Mary

Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38

What a brave woman Mary was. She risked being an outcast, and even being stoned to death, in order to be a part of God's plan for the world. She was the perfect example of obedience to bring up Jesus to also follow His Father's plan. I wonder how much she understood about what God asked of her. The Bible account doesn't tell us whether the angel told her more about the plan, or the sadness she would face, but the young virgin bowed to God's will and agreed to follow Him. The following link will take you to a beautiful song about Mary and her journey with Jesus:
"When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God."

"Dear God, help me to say, 'Yes,' to you, so that I can share in your plan for the world."

Bible in a Year - Day 3

As many have done before me, I am attempting to read the Bible in a year. Not my first full read-through, but my first with a time limit and a reason. I sometimes struggle to recognise God's love for me; to see how He loves me personally and not just as one of many. So, as I read now, I am trying to pick out every verse that explicitly shows God as loving. Furthermore, I have often heard people saying that the God of the Old Testament is a harsh, cruel god, not one of love, so hopefully this will enable me to refute those claims.

I began reading on Saturday, so I'm day 3 now.

Day 1: Genesis 1 & 2; Matthew 1
In the beginning God creates. Everything. And it's all for us. For me. The earth and everything in it were created to enable us to live the lives God gave us.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (Genesis 1:28-29)

God blessed them. First He created human beings and then He blessed them. What a wonderful start to life - receiving God's blessing. And then receiving the gift of His Creation.

We can see just how much God loved His final creations - man and woman - from His final thoughts before resting: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) Up until this point all that God saw was merely "good," but when He sees His human beings, He sees that everything is now "very good."