I meant to post this for Christmas but I will spare you all the usual excuses and just say that it never happened. But better late than never!
This painting is usually hung right in between the family room and the kitchen so it is visible from most areas of our home but currently it is stuck right behind a great big fake Christmas tree. Part of that last statement bothers me because it suggests we value commercialized Christmas over the real reason for the season but whatever. Not the point. If you closely at this painting there is really nothing to indicate to this is the virgin Mary holding baby Jesus other than her garb. This is a painting about a loving mother, peaceful and content, just holding her child. Sometimes this painting reminds me that Mary was a real person, not the halo'd saint we often see her depicted as. She very much felt the same emotions you or I do.
This season I went to see Savior of the World, a pageant about the birth and resurrection of Christ. The pageant gave me a really interesting perspective on Mary and Joseph. The actors portrayed the worry, doubt, fear, and incredible faith that I often fail to identify from the biblical account. Even now just thinking about serving a mission, a relatively normal experience, I feel incredibly anxious and fearful. Just imagine having to give birth and raise the son of God, the Savior of the World! What a remarkable woman.
