“Joy to the World! The Lord is come!” Advent is a time for introspection and penitence, preparing believers for the excitement of Jesus' arrival at Christmas. The contrast between the sorrow of our sin and joy of a Savior is like night turning into dawn.

Several years ago I had surgery to remove a parathyroid gland. The symptoms that led to the surgery involved rising calcium levels in my blood. I felt like two fingers were constantly pressing on my throat, creating a choking sensation. In addition, tremors shook my body from head to toe. The surgeon warned me that, because the parathyroid glands are right next to the vocal chords, the surgery could cause me to lose my voice.

I still remember waking up in the recovery area. The most amazing sensation was one of peace. After months of vigorous tremors, my body was at rest! And when the doctor later allowed me to try speaking, I learned that I still had a voice. I could talk!  My "night" had turned to dawn.  I added joy and praise to the mix.

Mary passed a long night in labor. Exhausted she lay back on the straw to rest. Her infant son lay safe in the manger. And Mary? As the sun rose the next morning, her heart overflowed with...joy.

Thanks for joining me once more for an Advent devotional.  Mary's emotions during her pregnancy, that first long Advent, reflect so many of our own emotions as we pass through life.  Some emotions are positive, like hope and peace, but others are less comfortable emotions like confusion and pain.

What is the worst pain you have ever felt? A kidney stone? Appendicitis? A broken bone? I have a tendency to block out muscle aches or spasms, but after eye surgery, I experienced pain that came in such peaks and waves of agony that for hours it was hard to catch my breath. I gasped as relentless pain stabbed my eye and made me writhe and cry out for relief. It took all my strength to master the pain.

When a woman faces the birth of her child, she has a first-hand opportunity to experience pain. The muscles tighten, pulling on the back and forcing the woman to double over. The contractions come one after another, closer and closer together until the beginning of one contraction overlaps with the end of the preceding one. Coping with those contractions requires all the woman’s capacity to focus.

As Mary moved through her labor towards the moment of delivery, she experienced...pain.

Bad as Mary’s physical pain was during that long night, it was short-lived compared to the pain she would experience many years later when she watched Roman soldiers nail her beloved son to a cross. It is awful to feel pain in your own body, but to stand nearby and see someone you love writhe in pain is agony of another kind.

In Isaiah 26:17-18, the prophet wrote about being in distress: “We were like a woman about to give birth, writhing and crying out in pain. When we are in Your presence, Lord, we, too, writhe in agony.” But just two verses later he says, “Yet we have this assurance: Those who belong to God will live; their bodies will rise again! Those who sleep in the earth will rise up and sing for joy!”

Whether your pain today rises from your physical body or from your heart, you still have cause for hope.