Rejected Miracles
I’m a doula—a woman who nurtures other women during pregnancy, pregnancy loss, labor, delivery, and all the transformations after birth that sometimes feel like magic, but other times just feel like poop. A lot of poop. So, it seems appropriate to me that I feel very drawn this time of year to the idea of Mary, in labor, looking for a safe place to give birth to baby Jesus. Except, there were no ultrasounds, so we didn’t know it was Jesus and she was rather adamant that the father was God. Let’s be honest here, there was a lot of Mary’s story that was unlikely to be believed by most. I imagine that Mary was making some noise and no one wanted her in their hotel—this single Mom in labor accompanied by some guy who wasn’t even the father and likely to be releasing all kinds of mucus, blood, and groans long into the night. Let’s face it, Mary was a hot mess. She was going to keep other guests awake and it’s not like …