As a mother, I always think I should have praised my children more, supported them more, spent more time with them—and there are days when I feel like a failure as a mother. I wonder if Mary, the mother of Jesus, ever felt the same way?

We begin Mary’s entrance into motherhood in a barn because there was no room for her in an inn. Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to the Savior of the World. She probably had no clue how to care for an infant. Haven’t we all been unsure of how to hold our little newborn treasures? Or how to feed them? Or change their diapers?

When Jesus was twelve, his family traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When they were traveling home, Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus wasn’t with them. They traveled back to Jerusalem and searched for three days until they found him in the temple (Luke 2:41-52). Can you imagine how Mary felt at this moment? Elation at finding him safe, angry that he had stayed behind without permission. Haven’t we all felt that momentary flutter in our hearts when we thought we’d lost our child in a store? I can remember that scenario all too well.

Jesus demonstrated the power of the Holy Spirit through miracles and his sermons, but his family didn’t believe in him. In Mark 3:21, the scripture says, “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mary knew exactly who Jesus was, yet in her mind, I believe, she thought he was still her little boy. There were times when my children were spreading their wings and testing the water, and I didn’t trust in them. I wanted to keep them safe, I wanted to keep them close, but that’s not God’s plan for them. Can you relate to Mary?

We finally see Mary as a witness to the crucifixion (John 19:26). I can’t begin to imagine how she felt, seeing her first born son be tortured and crucified. Mary must have remembered nursing her son, playing with him, losing him in Jerusalem, and failing to believe in him. I see Mary as a woman just like me and you—with all the love in her heart and all the failings we suffer. Today, as we celebrate Jesus’s birthday, I’d like to celebrate Mary, too. She teaches us that we’re not perfect mothers, just loving ones.