Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Every Sunday, I spend at least one hour-ish of the three hour block of church in the mother's lounge feeding Brayden. It is a small room with three rocking chairs. Every once in a while there is another mother there to chat with but most of the time it is just me; me and the single painting on the wall. It is called "And It Came to Pass Also That a New Star Did Appear" by Judy Law. It is a painting of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ cradling the baby Jesus in her arms. She is in the stable (underground of course) and staring up at the opening where starlight is flooding in. The painting shows a calm, thoughtful moment of privacy between Mary and her son.
Many an artist has pondered what went through Mary's mind on these occasions. Did she know her son would change the world? Did she know that he would save the world? Did she know that He would suffer and bleed to save us all? Did she know about his remarkable life or his predestined death?
When I look at this painting, I don't think she's thinking about any of that. I see a more human side of her. In many ways I see me. At Christmas time, people kept saying things to me like, "You must feel like the Mother, Mary, with a newborn in the house." I didn't know how to respond. Who am I to pretend I can relate to being the mother of the Son of God?!
But then I look at this painting....(if you want to see it, click here)

Maybe we have more in common than I thought. The scriptures say nothing about Mary's mother being with her when Christ is born, just as my mother could not be with me. I'm sure she had to go with her husband to be taxed and could not or would not be in Bethlehem with Mary. Mary had to learn to breastfeed her son without the help of a mother or friend or midwife. I have no doubt that breastfeeding was just as hard then as it is now. She was not able to call her mother for help when everything seemed to be going wrong.
 In this painting, I see a Mary who is pondering the daunting task of just being a mother for the first time. What do I do now? Can I really handle this? How will I know if what I am doing is right? In the last four months, I have asked myself those questions a thousand times over. It's comforting, I guess, to know that even Mary, the woman who raised Jesus Christ, might have had the same feelings and doubts that I have. I guess it means that if I do my job right, maybe my son can grow up to be like Jesus in every way he can. I have been given a guide in the scriptures. If I follow it, I will succeed.