My all time favorite hymn (outside of the descant in "O Come All Ye Faithful" where this soprano gets to wail in the stratosphere) is "Labor of Love" by Andrew Peterson, sung by Jill Phillips. 

What I love about it is how real it is: no sanctified sudden appearance of baby Jesus in the crib, no "mother mild" (really, since when has Mary ever come across as mild in the Gospels? I ask you!)

There was nothing perfectly prepared for this birth: no birthing suite, no mom to hold her hand, no midwives (although I'm sure somebody would have been pressed into service from the house), just darkness, dirty cobblestones and her own blood as she labored perfect life into being. (I'm not a mom, but isn't every newborn perfect?)

This song reminds me that everything does not need to be perfect for love to be born or for my light to shine, as much as I want to arrange everything ahead of time. And we are never alone as God is always with us. Whether we prepare for a baby, vocation, cherished dream, or a new way of living, when the time comes, the light we birth, will be beautiful and just right.

Andrew Peterson's "Labor of Love," performed by Jill Phillips : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBmWtX9k6VY

Tags: advent