Beholding the Lamb in Every Season: Motherhood

December 5, 2019  - By Gretchen Saffles

Well-Watered Women-Blog-Beholding the Lamb in Every Season-Motherhood

A New Meaning to Christmas

Christmas took on a whole new meaning in 2015 after we had our first little boy. Celebrating the wonder of Christ coming to earth in the form of a baby while holding a squirmy little one in my arms opened my eyes to the joy of treasuring moments. Much like Mary after she gave birth to the Savior of the world, I began to embrace the art of storing up moments in my heart, pausing long enough to let them sink into the depths of my soul.

As my two little boys are growing and becoming more aware of Christmas, I am also becoming more starkly aware of my responsibility to teach them its true meaning. The other day we received a mailer from Target chock full of toys for Christmas gifts. My oldest caught sight of it and sat there for a good five minutes thumbing through the pages, daydreaming in his little mind about all these new toys. I sat down next to him, wrapping my arm around his small waist, and told him about the true meaning of Christmas. It’s not just about giving gifts or receiving gifts; it’s about knowing Jesus, the Greatest Gift. 

The True Meaning of Christmas

Every time I ask him what Christmas is all about, it’s as if I am preaching a mini-sermon to my heart. How quickly I, as an adult, forget the real wonder of Christmas. I’ve got shopping lists, our favorite Christmas treats to bake, and gifts to buy. There’s a tree to put up, lights to string, and stockings to hang.

But most of all, my children are there desiring to be held by their parents, not worried about the gifts to be bought or the tree to be decorated. They simply want to be with us—laughing, singing, and making a mess along the way.

Their eyes glisten with every little thing we do. Pulling out ornaments is like digging through a treasure chest. Baking Christmas cookies is like making masterpieces. Going to see Christmas lights in pajamas past bedtime is the best adventure for them. What quickly can become routine becomes something new when seen through their eyes.

And I can’t help but think of Christ, the Lamb of God born where the lamb was born, growing up as a child, becoming an adolescent, then a teenager, then a man. Never once did he sin. Never once did he rebel. Christ the Lamb was the perfect Son of man. It is to Him I look with great wonder in the Word, and it is Him I proclaim with great joy to my own two boys. 

Beholding the Lamb in Motherhood

Beholding Christ the Lamb of God in motherhood often looks like pausing to hold my children’s faces for a moment and staring into their hazel eyes. It looks like evaluating what I think needs to be done and asking God: what is the most important thing to be done? It’s rehearsing the true meaning of Christmas over and over with my children, knowing that every reminder makes the roots of truth grow deeper in their hearts, and in mine too.

Beholding the Lamb in every season is a priceless gift to give and receive, unwrap and behold. And as a mama, my aim will continue to be to pause, like Mary, and treasure up each little moment in my heart (Luke 2:19), surrendering the way I thought things might be, to embrace the beauty of things just as they are. All the while, singing and dancing with my children joyfully to the melodies of Christmas hymns that still ring true today.

Your friend, Gretchen

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  1. Sarah Marinkovich-Durfee says:

    My husband and I do not have children but I think about this a lot. If God chooses that we should be parents one day, I want to remember the importance of not getting wrapped up in the holiday as we know it and practice what it ought to be- a season of worship. This was a great post even for those of us who are not mothers. Thank you

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