My Advent Call Part I: Cherishing Christ

I spent the whole day Saturday babysitting for my little nephew.  He is just over a year old.  Such is the nature of babies that he demanded so very much of my time.  Yet I was in no way bothered by this, not with how cute he is.  After a bath full of bubbles which followed a very messy attempt at getting him to eat vegetables it was time for bed.  He was already moving a little slower than normal and I knew it would not be long before he was sleeping.  I wrapped him up tightly in his blanket, being wrapped tight helps babies feel secure.  And then I rocked him in the chair near his crib.  His little hand came out of his blanket and lightly clenched my t-shirt while he drifted off.  His tiny head was nestled in my chest and I knew he had gone to sleep when his grasp loosened even ever so slightly.  This was the part where I was to lay him gently in his crib and leave him alone to sleep.  I couldn't.  He was so small and I knew him to be completely helpless apart from my care.  So I held him there for twenty more minutes before talking myself into laying him down.  As I quietly closed the door behind me I was so compelled to pray for his safety and well being.

Last night as I was going to sleep I was given two little phrases that I intend to clarify and refine, the first of which I will discuss here and now.  Cherish Christ.  We spend most of our contemplative energies on the adult Christ, the miracle worker and teacher, without ever giving thought to Him in His infancy.  One of my favorite songs to listen to around this time is the song "Mary Did You Know."  Mary had no frame of reference to understand that she was holding Yahwey in her arms.  YHWH!!!  She was actually cradling God.  With the amount of care I felt compelled to give to my nephew Easton, I cannot even imagine hers.  I want to cherish Christ, and dwell upon how much He sacrificed, not just on the cross, but in becoming helpless.  The Child that Mary delivered, soo thereafter delivered her, and the rest of creation.