Brave Mary's New Boy

“A candle is burning, a candle of JOY,

A candle to welcome brave Mary's new boy

Our hearts fill with wonder and eyes light and glow

As joy brightens winter like sunshine on snow”

~ words by Sandra Dean

The word that jumps out of this verse to me is the word 'brave'.

And so when I think of Mary at this time of year, I think of how scared and confused she must have been. Unlike today's society there were no baby showers, no classes to prepare first time mothers for what was happening to their bodies, no modern medical facilities to aid in the birth. As well there is the presumption in Matthew’s account that Mary had committed adultery. Yes, she was brave!

I well remember my stay in the maternity wing on a local hospital in the mid-1960s, with a skeleton staff working between Christmas and New Years. The nurse looked at me, and said, 'You teenage girls have no business getting pregnant and then coming in here expecting us to look after you!' In her defence she was probably tired out and wanting to be home with her family over the holidays. For me, 23 years old and married for 4 years, it hurt but wasn't devastating. However it has stayed with me all these years coming to mind each Christmas as I hear the story of this pregnant, teenage, unmarried mother. And I wonder just how much the world has actually changed

I hope that the birth of a child is an occasion for JOY not only to the parents, but also in the extended family. And most often it is. But also there are those time when it is anything but; when because of poverty, the number of mouths to feed, children to clothe and educate, suitable housing, that that joy is muted.

Each parent wants the best for their child, wants them to thrive and become the best that they can be. When the physical or emotional needs of a child aren't met, that child becomes 'at risk'. And so I wonder how many of these ‘at risk’ children there are out there in the world right now. And more particularly what is being done for them as we remember the birth of this one baby long ago.

What can you do to 'welcome' one of these 'at risk' babies and bring joy into that mother's life this Christmas?

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