Wishes for a child
When Mary gazed into the eyes of the baby Jesus, I wonder what she wished for for him.
I’m imagining she did, because Mary was an ordinary woman and isn’t that what every new mother does as she looks down at her newborn child? I know as soon as I held my granddaughter for the first time and my heart was overwhelmed with love for her, my mind was filled with wishes for her too.
That’s why fairy tales have the fairy godmother character who can grant a wish for a new baby: it’s founded in that natural instinct we have to provide for and protect this vulnerable, fragile little bundle.
I asked my daughter last night what she would wish for her six week old treasure and she said ‘happiness’. There’s a lot bound up in happiness, isn’t there? Safety and food and warmth and cuddles at this stage, I guess: we can do that. My wish is that she will always feel loved and appreciated and enjoyed. I think I’ve come to realise that that is a very precious gift.
None of us know what the future holds for our children and grandchildren. Thinking ahead can be really scary. All we can know is that we will be there for them and do all that we can for them.
And so I wonder what Mary was feeling as she was holding her little one’s tiny hand. In Luke’s account of the Christmas story, we don’t hear any more after the visit to the temple to fulfil the requirements of the Law.
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. Luke 2:39-40
That’s it. That’s the end of the Christmas story in the book of Luke. There’s a lot more in Matthew’s account that we’ll go back to tomorrow. For now, let’s have a look at the three things that describe Jesus as he grew. Maybe these were Mary’s three wishes. Maybe they could be our three wishes.
He became strong…that’s about good health, isn’t it? He ate well, slept well, had plenty of exercise and fresh air. He grew into a healthy toddler. He had rosy cheeks and sparkly eyes (my take on it). Isn’t that what we wish for our kids. We pray that they will be protected from serious illness. We have no control over that, of course, and when a child does become seriously ill, it’s devastating. Our second son was born with a hole in his lung and was on oxygen in an incubator for a week. The nurses took it in their stride, but for us, it was devastating and we were so, so scared. We believed we were going to lose him and begged God to make him well. We went through it all again with him when he contracted meningitis at three months old. We prayed like we had never prayed before. Health is a gift from God that none of us should ever take for granted. the big stuff is out of our control, but we do have control over the day to day stuff – the good diet, the exercise, the rest…modelling a healthy way of life is a great gift to the children in our lives.
He was filled with wisdom…Wisdom is different to knowledge. Wisdom comes from learning, yes, but learning in all sorts of ways. Listening, observing, exploring, experimenting. Wisdom is common sense and living with eyes wide open to the lessons all around us in the natural world and in the lives of others. I’m not convinced (as an older person probably – I’m beginning to experience the reality of the generation gap!) that all the entertainment in the world today is a good thing. It’s possible to be constantly entertained and distracted by pretty superficial stuff without getting out there and living life to the full. As a grandma, I intend to give the gift of exploration and discovery to my grandchildren. We’re going to do stuff together. Have adventures. Experiment and laugh when our experiments get messy! When my kids were young, I was very caught up with academic achievement. Everything had to be educational. I took it all so seriously. Now I see there is so much more to learn in life than numbers and facts and the spelling of long words. Wisdom is not dependent on IQ. Academic ability is a gift from God that should never be taken for granted, but wisdom is a gift too. And the two do not always go hand in hand.
The grace of God was on him…In Jesus’ case, this meant something very special of course. He was the Son of God, sent to earth by God for a special task. But then, every child is special with a unique role to play on this earth. Helping each one to see this and know this in their heart is really important. My dad always asked me ‘What are you teaching your children?’, because for him, teaching was an academic exercise, teaching my kids what to think and believe about God. He was never impressed by my vague answer that I wanted my kids to know what it was to be loved by God. I want my children and grandchildren to experience God in the world around them and within their own lives. The grace of God is available to all. God is love and where there is love, there is God. So let’s teach our kids what it is to love and to be loved.
Strength, wisdom and grace: three wishes for all those newborn babies out there, just starting out in their lives on this earth.
I came across this poem which fits well here. It’s often used at Christenings, but can be a prayer for any child at any time.
Wishes for a Child
May you know the gift of friendship
Feel the sun upon your face
May you win displaying dignity
And accept defeat with grace
May you marvel at the wonders
Of nature and the earth
May you value education
And know your own true worth
May you live and love with honesty
And do the thing that’s right
May you stand up for the helpless
And sleep in peace at night
May you thrive upon a challenge
And sing and dance and laugh
May you know the joy of parenthood
And follow your own path.
There are some great wishes in there, aren’t there? Not things that money can buy, but priceless things we as parents and grandparents can invest in.
That last line is key: that each child, each unique individual, should be set free to follow their own path. Mary and Joseph had to hold loosely to their son, knowing that what they would expect the path of their child to be would probably be very different from God’s plans for his life! As our children have grown older, we’ve had to learn this lesson too. We should not expect to have any control over the future/destiny/path of our children – a certain influence or guiding along the way maybe, but we have to hold loosely too and let them walk their own path, whatever that may be.
So have a think today about your wishes for your children/grandchildren/nephews and nieces – the little ones in your life.
Each one is precious.
