Wonderings

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Jesus’ birth. Duh… I know, it’s Christmas and that’s what I’m supposed to be doing. No, what I mean is that I’ve been thinking a lot about everything surrounding it, even pondering back to Adam and Eve. (That’s a whole separate post!) I have so many questions! They’re not the questions that are deep, soul-shattering questions that would change my character values. They are more like “wonderings.” I thought I’d share them with you to see if anyone else ever thought these things.

When Jesus was born, did He have a special awareness that other babies don’t have? When He first opened His eyes, did He think, “Yeah, that’s it! Look at this place! What a wonder this world is!” Did He ever congratulate Himself on what a good job He did creating this world, or did His feelings center more on despair because His creation was corrupted? (I’d like to think Hope is the answer to that question.)

What were Jesus’ first words as a child? Most babies’ first words are “mama,” and maybe that was His. When did He take His first steps? Did He sleep through the night from the start? Was He more advanced than other kids His age? When He cut Himself or skinned His knee, did He heal quicker than a regular human being? Did He have nightmares? Did He throw temper tantrums? Did he tattle? Did He annoy the living daylights out of His sister, or was He extra nice to people? Could He read others’ thoughts?

When Jesus and his cousin John (the Baptist) had play dates, did they have a special bond with each other? Maybe they laughed more when they were around each other than when they were around other kids. Maybe John taught Jesus how to skip rocks or how to spy on their siblings. Did they ever swim together and dunk each other?

Who did Mary tell when she found out she was pregnant with the Messiah? Did she tell her mom? And did her mom think she was a lunatic? Imagine Jesus’ grandmother hearing her daughter say she was going to give birth to our Savior. Do you think Grandma was proud or shocked or wary of her daughter? What would it be like if my daughter told me she was going to give birth to God? And – honestly – what if that truly did happen? Could you imagine the enormity of raising a child today who might birth a Savior? What if we all raised our kids like they were the humble instrument of God’s redemption? Wow. THAT thought totally changes my parenting goals!

What did it feel like when the Holy Spirit conceived with Mary? What did Jesus’ kicks in her womb do to her? What did she say when people asked her if she wanted a boy or a girl? Did she have to pretend she didn’t know yet? At the market, did strangers ask to touch her belly – and did it feel just a tiny bit different than another pregnant woman’s belly? When her ankles were swollen and she couldn’t sleep at night, did she just beg God to let her finally give birth? Did she wonder what the baby would look like – would it look like God or like a regular baby? Did she worry herself endlessly over that?

What did His cry sound like when He was born? And what was it like the first time baby Jesus opened His eyes and looked at Mary? Did she just sit for hours on end and gaze into His eyes and know eternity was in there? How did she discipline Eternity? Did she make Him sit in time out? Did she wash His mouth out with soap if He said a bad word? (Did He even say bad words?!) What was His favorite food, or did He like them all? Did He raise His arms above His head and play “So Big!” with Mary and Joseph?

Where did the shepherds go? After they came and found the baby lying in a manger, did they just leave and go back to their regular lives? Did they tell anyone what they saw? Did they feel compelled to drop what they were doing and follow this baby for the rest of their lives? Did any of them ever see Him preach years later, and realize that was the same baby the angels spoke about?

Did angels ever spend time just watching this little boy Jesus enjoy life? Did they invisibly drop in on Him and live vicariously through Him? Did they envy His ability to feel and taste and touch and hug others? Did they sing Him lullabyes at bedtime?

Did Joseph ever resent having to raise the Son of God? Did He balk at the responsibility and envy his friends’ “regular” kids? Did Joseph ever wonder how he was supposed to provide for the Messiah? Did he teach Jesus how to use a hammer, or did Jesus already innately know? Did he give Jesus tips on how to woo a woman, or did everyone know that Jesus just wasn’t in to that? Did Joseph save the very first woodcarving Jesus created, like how we save the first drawings our kids give us? Was Jesus a rebellious teenager? Did He ever say the words every parent dreads hearing? (“I hate you! You are so mean because you won’t let me ______!”) Did Jesus ever get in trouble for breaking curfew? Or was He always obedient and responsible?

When Jesus died and then reappeared three days later, did Mary swear never to let Him out of her sight again? Did she ask Him where He’d been for three days?

…Oh, I could go on and on about this. There are so many What Ifs and wonderings floating through my head. Do any of you have these same thoughts, or am I the only one?