As I write, it’s Christmas morning. I’m up bright and early, munching on candy in my quiet living room. Before long, this room will be buzzing with activity. While I can’t wait to make new memories with my family, I think I’m going to take a few moments to ponder the meaning of today before they wake.

Christmas can be filled with expectations if you let it. We all have an idea of what it should look like, and how it might be the best.day.ever. It probably is a better idea to just let it be, and think about the meaning of the day and how we can apply it to our lives.

Today, I’m thinking about Mary, mother of Jesus. In the Christmas story, she was heavily pregnant, just waiting for Jesus to be born. I imagine she was filled with trepidation, not sure of what the future would hold.

I wonder if she knew that her body was holding Light itself. That the child inside of her would lead many people to God, and teach Westerners like myself that “the kingdom of God is within you.”

The female body is a glorious and mysterious thing. Women have the privilege of new life being formed inside of their bodies, effectively experiencing the power of creation from the inside out.

And this ability to create can manifest in everything we touch, if we’d like it to. Women have a knack to create beauty right along with babies.

Without a woman, there would be no Christmas story…the far-reaching story that has impacted civilization for millennia.

While thinking about the light of Christ, I’m reminded of the zinc spark inside of a woman’s body, which is the bright flash of light during conception that releases from the egg when a sperm successfully fertilizes it.

It all begins with light.

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3)

Women are light-bearers, chosen to bring forth both light and love to the world around us. What a beautiful thought on this Christmas morning.

Originally found on Nicole’s Substack.