All is dark. I see a sliver of light as I traverse and contort to fit through this confined passage. The quiet becomes filled with noise of a screaming woman in anguishing pain. In an instant, the enveloped warmth disappears, replaced by brisk cold, sending shivers throughout my tiny body. I am flesh, a baby.
Bursting forth, I emerge from my mother’s body. She’s crying, taking deep breaths of relief that the pain is subsiding. All of my senses are on overload. I cry out, trying to fill my lungs with air for the first time. My naked limbs flail uncontrollably in their new-found freedom; nothing is as I have known it. I am exposed, vulnerable.
Not so cold anymore, I feel the softness of cloth around my skin. Nestled into my mother’s chest, her arms hold me tight. I feel the gentle stroke of her hand across my cheek. Fumbling my mouth and my tongue as she presses me against her, the taste of something sweet and warm oozes forth from her bare body bringing comfort, calming my tremulous nerves. I am hungry, needy.
Squinting to see what’s around me, I can’t quite make out the forms before me. But my ears, they are engaged. The voices I recognize because I’ve heard the echoes of them while cupped in darkness. They are voices of a man and a woman, my father and mother. They call me, “Jeshua”. Clucking, mooing, baaing, all sorts of creatures add to the commotion. The night isn’t so silent. I am overwhelmed.
Over-stimulated, my eyes start to feel heavy. Safe and comfortable in my mother’s arms, she whispers sweet talk in my ears. As she sets me down in a hard, wooden manger, a piece of stiff straw scratches my cheek. Burning and itching, my eyes close tight. My face twinges and my lower lip, curving downward, pouts and trembles. Water builds up in the corners of my eyes until they are filled to the brim, then it trickles down my cheeks. Quickly, the increasingly familiar touch of my mother’s hand softly brushes the tears from my eyes and soothes the hurt. It’s been a long day. I am tired.
As I drowsily drift into a deep sleep, I am slightly aware of the noises and shuffling around me. At moments the voices burst into glorifying shouts of praise sending tingles up and down my spine. Soon, all fades away. I am at rest.
Among them I now lie.
Bursting forth, I emerge from my mother’s body. She’s crying, taking deep breaths of relief that the pain is subsiding. All of my senses are on overload. I cry out, trying to fill my lungs with air for the first time. My naked limbs flail uncontrollably in their new-found freedom; nothing is as I have known it. I am exposed, vulnerable.
Not so cold anymore, I feel the softness of cloth around my skin. Nestled into my mother’s chest, her arms hold me tight. I feel the gentle stroke of her hand across my cheek. Fumbling my mouth and my tongue as she presses me against her, the taste of something sweet and warm oozes forth from her bare body bringing comfort, calming my tremulous nerves. I am hungry, needy.
Squinting to see what’s around me, I can’t quite make out the forms before me. But my ears, they are engaged. The voices I recognize because I’ve heard the echoes of them while cupped in darkness. They are voices of a man and a woman, my father and mother. They call me, “Jeshua”. Clucking, mooing, baaing, all sorts of creatures add to the commotion. The night isn’t so silent. I am overwhelmed.
Over-stimulated, my eyes start to feel heavy. Safe and comfortable in my mother’s arms, she whispers sweet talk in my ears. As she sets me down in a hard, wooden manger, a piece of stiff straw scratches my cheek. Burning and itching, my eyes close tight. My face twinges and my lower lip, curving downward, pouts and trembles. Water builds up in the corners of my eyes until they are filled to the brim, then it trickles down my cheeks. Quickly, the increasingly familiar touch of my mother’s hand softly brushes the tears from my eyes and soothes the hurt. It’s been a long day. I am tired.
As I drowsily drift into a deep sleep, I am slightly aware of the noises and shuffling around me. At moments the voices burst into glorifying shouts of praise sending tingles up and down my spine. Soon, all fades away. I am at rest.
Among them I now lie.
