This is an image of the God Bearer, or Mother of God, referred to as the Theotokos in Greek.

I photographed this image from a small icon that I often carry when I travel

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Today, 8 September, Orthodox Christians celebrate the birth of the Theotokos.

The Orthodox Christian understanding of her birth is well expressed in this passage from the Orthodox Wiki:

The Holy Virgin and Theotokos Mary was born to elderly and previously barren parents by the names of Joachim and Anna, in answer to their prayers. Orthodox Christians do not hold to the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, in which it is supposed that Mary was preserved from the ancestral sin that befalls us all as descendants of Adam and Eve, in anticipation of her giving birth to the sinless Christ. The Orthodox believe that Mary indeed received the ancestral sin, having been conceived in the normal way of humanity, and thus needed salvation like all mankind. Orthodox thought does vary on whether Mary actually ever sinned, though there is general agreement that she was cleansed from sin at the Annunciation.

As an Orthodox Christian I have recited this prayer often, in the last period.

My relationship with the theotokos

Orthodox Christians ask the Theotokos, for her intervention. This is well expressed in this line from the Paraklesis:

Spotless one, Who by a word, did bring to us the Word eternal, In the last days ineffably; Do you now plead with him As the one with the motherly favor.

This version of the Small Paraklesis

In this version the introductory prayers are omitted and it begins with the words:

With many temptations surrounding me, Searching for salvation, I have hastened unto you; O Mother of the Word, and ever-Virgin, From all distresses and dangers deliver me.
Most Holy Theotokos save us.

For the full text of the Paraklesis follow this link, or go to the Small Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos on YouTube. This has closed captions in English

Luke 1:39-49, 56

The following passage of scripture, read today on the commemoration of her birth, offers us a an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the Theotokos.

In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

A More Comprehensive story from the Orthodox Church in America