I have this button which I put on this time of year that says "The Virgin Mary Was an Unwed Teenage Mother." I don't remember where or when I bought it, but I know why - because it is provocative and because it is true.
I like it because it makes me enter into the Christmas story in a new way, through the eyes of a young girl who has no more idea how her future will unfold than we do. It's easy to look back on history and admire people because we know how the story turns out. When you are in the midst of events you don't have that luxury.
I also like it because it makes me look at events around me in a new way. So often society writes off people like unwed teenage mothers - pities them, scorns them, shuns them, panders to them - and there are a lot of statistical reasons why...
- More than 75 percent are on welfare within five years of the birth of their first child.
- Only about one teenage mother in four ever completes high school.
- Seven out of ten marriages fail among women who had a baby while in their teens.
- The sons of teenage mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison.
- The daughters of teen mothers are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers themselves.
The deck is so stacked against them that we often forget the potential there. We stop seeing the beloved person created in the image of God and we only see a mass of statistics.
The story of Christmas is for the people who are in most need of good news, those whose lives have taken a bad turn. It's a story of new hope for the hopeless.
May this season be a blessing to you and those whose lives are intertwined with yours.
[Statistics from intheknow.com.]