When we found out that Jed was on the way and that he’d be a Christmas baby, I couldn’t help but be awestruck. For months, I thought about what it would feel like to have a newborn over Christmas. I was going to be able to connect to the Christmas story on a whole new level.

Those months led up to our Christmas baby being born on December 9th and it’s something I’ll cherish forever. Christmas has come and gone, but the images haven’t left my mind. Mary gave birth to Jesus. I gave birth to Jed. Someone gave birth to you.

There’s not a single person around you that wasn’t birth by their mother. Sure, sin has affected everything. But, regardless of that, there is a thread that has been weaved through centuries. We all entered the world from our mothers womb.

As a mother, I’m connected to so many that have gone before me. And, so many that are alongside of me trying to figure this whole thing out. Did Mary know what she was doing? I’m convinced she was like the rest of us. Clueless, but learning how to lean on God’s grace and guidance.

There’s something beautiful about the thread that connects us. Similar fears, heartaches, and celebrations have been handed down throughout generations. One day, God-willing, my kids will be parents themselves. They’ll pick up the baton and raise a new generation.

What I’m doing now, what the rest of us mothers are doing now, impacts further than the days bedtime stories. We are a link in a chain that has spanned generations and will continue on far after we’ve left. Sure, I feel like I’m failing half of the time, but I know I’m not the first down this chain that struggles with the same.

Isn’t there something comforting when you know someone else has been right where you’re at? Lately, I’ve realized it’s not just me stumbling to get out of bed in the morning. And, it’s not just the other mothers around the world. It’s a bond shared throughout the ages of this crazy ride called parenthood. I’m one of many pushing onwards in my quest to look more like Jesus through the refinement of being someone’s mother. From Eve right on down the line, we’re all linked together