While I’m thinking theologically... I just have to mention that in the Christmas Story (the real one, not Rudoph or the Grinch), there is much to contemplate not only about love, but about the various facets of parenting, adoption, unplanned pregnancies and more. I’m offering no opinions here, only observations.

I find it highly fascinating that the Christmas story contains many elements that we in modern times attribute to our own societal “issues”. I don’t think this is an accident. Let me explain…

First off, Mary was an unwed pregnant teenager. Not a good thing in those times (or now). This was a crisis pregnancy. There is plenty to contemplate when you think about how hard this must have been for her. Since I have long since been a teen, my latest thought process is more about what Mary’s parents must have been thinking or how they reacted. There’s little information on that, but as the mother of a 15-year-old, I wonder just how supportive I would have been in this circumstance.

Then there’s Joseph and the element of stepparent adoption in the story. This is a particularly fascinating point for me and one I’ve contemplated often in light of Super Dad’s acceptance of KayKay as his daughter even before we pursued the adoption of LuLu.

Then there’s the whole fleeing to Egypt part of the story to escape Herod’s persecution of Jewish babies. This is a part that I’m relating to this year. Here are Mary & Joseph, who we know from earlier in the story are of humble means. Yet, they literally go to the ends of the earth to give their son what he needs…escape in Egypt. Gee, going to court, spending thousands of dollars, pursuing countless expensive therapies, fighting insurance companies. At least fleeing the country hasn’t been asked of me yet…

And finally, the Wise Men are my favorite part of the story. They always have been. Rather you believe they all traveled from Arabia, or you believe they represent all races (as my grandmother's nativity depicted - one Arab, one African and one Asian), these sojourners from far away lands are fascinating. We know them as “wise” men – people who recognized the Christ Child for who he was, according to the story. We stick them next to our mangers, but in reality they didn’t show up until maybe even two years later. I’ve often wondered not only how they “knew” (ok, so they followed a star) but even more importantly why they were so motivated to travel from such great distances. What compelled them?

But this year, I have a new thought to contemplate.

The story goes they brought three gift (heard a sermon that we really don’t know how many wise men there were, but we are sure the brought three kinds of gift). The Bible doesn't tell us their names (legend has given them names). But we do know about the gold, frankincense and myrrh. I often wonder what Mary and Joseph thought of these gifts. Now gold and frankincense – they were probably thrilled. It would be a bit like waking up Christmas morning and finding a brand new Lexus in the driveway - the kind with the big red bow like in the commercial. I suspect these gifts of great value helped fund that fleeing to Egypt maneuver. But myrrh…myrrh is a strange gift for a baby. It was used as an embalming agent and associated with death. I suspect it was not a welcomed gift or at least was a puzzling one.

And this got me thinking about the puzzling gifts we’ve received where our special child is concerned. They have been many – things we didn’t understand at first, things that seem almost insulting – yet they have often been the best gifts of all. The biggest example that comes to mind is the first QEEG we had done on LuLu and the therapist who reviewed it. He had devastating news about how seriously dysfunction her brain appeared to be. And oddly enough he correctly identified at age 5 all the disabilities she has now been diagnosed with. It was much like receiving the “death sentence” that Mary must have felt when she saw the myrrh. She had to recognize that if this gift was going to be used (and was not just a social faux pas) it was going to have pain and suffering attached to it. I suspect parents of children with disabilities have often been in the same spot. Wondering exactly what a gift, comment, evaluation or test result means.

Like I said at the beginning – these are just musings, just observations. Not meant to draw any conclusion or offer an opinion. Only meant to give you food for thought and perhaps a new way to look at things this Christmas season.