Silent Night?

We’ve probably all heard the song “Silent Night” at some point in our lives. I know that I hear it every year at Christmas time and I’ve always thought it was a sweet, calm song to sing. This year, as I was thinking about it, I began to wonder if the night Jesus was born was actually silent. The more I thought about it, I began to wonder if Mary’s time raising Jesus was similar to mine or if raising Him was easier than other children because He’s the Son of God. When I think of Him as a human, I think that it was probably just as hard as any other baby, but I honestly have no idea what it was like — I do tend to doubt it was truly silent though.

We have had some hard nights with our boys. Nights that were less than silent and filled with exhaustion. We’ve had times where we’re so exhausted that we’re almost willing to give them whatever they want — if they could just tell us what that is, so we guess hoping to figure it out. We try to think of anything that could possibly calm their little bodies and get them to sleep. When I’m overly tired, sometimes it feels as though the moment my head hits the pillow a little one wakes up — as if they knew I was trying to get some sleep which meant that they should pick that exact moment to wake up. It is on these sleepless nights, when I’m half awake and pleading with God to please make this child sleep, that I often have deep thoughts. I think that’s His way of using the moment for His good because I’ve yet to experience Him answering my pleading with my baby actually going to sleep in that exact moment.

When I’m walking through anything that feels too hard to handle, I ask Him what I’m suppose to be learning through it because I believe that He can use anything to teach us more about Himself. One of the nights that I was pleading with Him to make my baby sleep, I began to wonder about this “Silent Night” that we sing about. It led me to thinking about Mary, Joseph, the animals, labor, childbirth, Jesus — all of it — and realizing that it probably wasn’t silent. I began to think about all the times I’ve become frustrated that I’m once again not getting as much sleep as I’d like. All the times that I’ve selfishly grumbled that my baby woke me up once again. I cried about it and then ended up thanking Him for blessing me with babies that cry and wake me up. I thanked Him for answering my prayers and allowing me to be the Mama of our sweet boys. I thought about all the women that would love to have a baby wake them up over and over again — because it meant their baby was alive. The fact that I get to be woken up by two boys is truly a blessing. Plus, as I was thinking about these things I could feel our third son, who is due in April 2023, moving around and I was grateful even more. He is healthy and strong and I’m so grateful that this pregnancy has gone so well. Gratitude has a way of shifting my focus and reminding me of what’s truly important — and for that I am grateful.

That doesn’t mean that I always remember to see things that way — I’m human. I still have times where I’m exhausted to the point of tears and find myself pleading with God to help me get my baby back to sleep. I still have times where I think that I can’t do it and I lose control of my thoughts and forget to be grateful. I know that life is hard and parenting is no exception to that. I also know that God can use all of it for His good and glory and when I choose to be selfless and grateful, I do much better mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually than if I choose to be selfish and ungrateful.

So, what do you think — was the night Jesus was born a silent night? Do you think that raising the Son of God was easier for Mary and Joseph than raising their other children? I know that it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of life, but I find it fun to think about. I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and is able to find joy in the One that we’re celebrating in the first place!

Song of the Week: I thought it was only appropriate to choose “Silent Night” by Pentatonix. Enjoy!