Prologue: For the past week or two, I have been praying for the grace to know Jesus more intimately in his humanity.
Christmas is about celebrating that He came as a baby to be Emmanuel, "God with us." He showed me this through an unusual gift - a stomach virus.
I am now well enough to share what God showed me as I unwrap this gift as a series of scenes.
Scene 1- @ 4:30 am in our girl's bedroom (12/16/11) after changing her bedding and cleaning up all traces of vomit from the floor etc.
"My tummy really hurts." [This is the 3rd time since 1:30 am and she won't stop till @ 8 am.]
I rub her tummy. "Sorry, you're not feeling well. We'll keep praying for you to feel better."
Tears well up in her eyes. My heart hurts that I can't take away her pain.
Scene 2 - @ 12 pm in our living/family room (Friday, 12/16/11)
"Can I have some of your soup?"
"I'm sorry, honey, the nurse said you can only have a sip of water every 15 minutes- if you don't throw up. By 4 p.m., if you continue to not throw up, you can have some crackers."
I feel like the worst mom ever.
Scene 3 - Sat morning (12/17/11) - She is feeling fine and I am taking a moment to pray and reflect.
Since Jesus was fully God and fully human, the Gospels record that He got tired and hungry like us. I wonder if he vomited?
Hmm. Just the thought that he may have vomited, makes me even more grateful for His sacrifice in coming as a human.
Thank you, Jesus, for coming and experiencing the struggles we have because we live in human bodies.
Scene 4 - 7 pm Sat. after dinner -Sun about 4 p.m.
I run to the kitchen sink and lose part of my dinner. Ugh! I guess I didn't escape the virus.
On average, I vomit, every half-hour since 7 p.m., and my stomach aches at midnight. My stomach seems to be on a super-fast-extra-spin cycle with upward thrust - continuously.
I now truly understand what my girl meant when she said her stomach hurts. It is no longer mere sympathy. I am fully identifying with what she went through a few days ago.
It will be a while before I eat again.
Scene 6 - Epilogue
I did not choose to completely identify with my daughter's suffering. What blows my mind is that Jesus did when He came as a human.
He came for something much worse than vomit: our sin.
He came knowing He would suffer in a way that He never had to before He came as a human. He came to die on a cross.
He willingly identified with us fully in our humanity. How many of us have friends who will be with us in our pain let alone bear it?
It humbles me that He would love me so much. He loves you that much.
Just like you can't love the metal dog in the photo like a real furry, tail-wagging dog, so a distant Savior can't compare to a living, loving and suffering Savior.
Thank you, God, for answering my prayer to know Jesus more intimately in His humanity.
May we know and celebrate with gratitude that He came to be WITH us this year!
P.S. I will be offline for a few days to focus on family. Thanks for being part of my first year as a blogger. Your stories have truly blessed me. So very grateful for you.
Linking with encouraging Emily at "imperfect prose" at
Linking with the wonderful Jennifer of "Getting Down with Jesus" at 
© Soul Stops/Dolly L. 2011. Creative Commons License: Okay for noncommercial use if you attribute this post to me and link to my permalink and blog.