Mothering

Illness has descended on our house.

Late last night, right after Christmas Chapel, Nickels threw up after nursing a stomachache for a couple of hours. He said he started feeling really crummy during the last song, "Adeste Fideles". By the time we'd driven by three locations to try to put air in one of the tires that was low*/**, the feeling had hit so hard that I had to pull the car over.

And, a moment too soon it wasn't. He christened the curb of a neighbor's house.*** And the running board. And the door.

Fever set in after that. And, this morning? No appetite and a temperature just slightly above normal.

If other kids at the school are any indication, this is going to be at least a five day recovery process. The week before finals, thank you very little.

And, as I write this, I wonder what kind of hassles Mary went through with Jesus. There is no indication he ever had the flu or diarrhea or a sinus infection. If there were finals at the temple, they aren't noted. Was he grounded from woodworking for not telling his parents that he was staying behind to teach while they walked into the desert for over a day and then couldn't find him?

We'll never know. But, we do know that Mary endured the brutal death of her son and was with Him the entire way.

That speaks volumes of her commitment as a Mother. Not every Mom could gaze upon their severely beaten son being hung on a cross as a common perpetrator.

Not every Mom could take on the task of raising such a special son, one who seemed to speak in rhymes and puzzles and poetry.

Not every Mom would accept the burden of becoming an unmarried, pregnant teenager who, by law, could have been stoned to death because of her "crime".

But Mary did. What a remarkable woman she was.

So, as I nurse my boy back to health, I'll remember that Jesus' Mom was chosen just for him. She was in his life on purpose. And, just as God chose Mary for Jesus, he chose me for Nickels.

What an honor and privilege it is to be chosen to raise a child. And to follow in the footsteps of the incredible Mother chosen to raise our Savior.


*Whose dash sensor kept screaming at me as we drove, causing one of the kids to ask if the car was going to explode. NICE, Nissan. Really, really nice.

**And before you wonder "Why didn't they just drive home and drop that poor sick boy off?", we figured it made sense to fix the tire on the way home because it is attached to the car that is the carpool bus in the mornings, sub 8a.m.

***SO.VERY.SORRY.