Mary

This won't be a long blog, my head is jumbled, struggle nailing down my thots. But the message yesterday, Sunday morning by Pastor Ritchey was so good. Nothing added, just the story in Luke 1: 26-38. He is doing a Christmas series as most pastors do during this time and yesterday it was about Mary. This passage and really the Bible doesn't say much about Mary's character when the angel, Gabriel, came to see her. She was probably only between the ages of 13-15 when she became pregnant!! She was betrothed to Joseph and in an engagement period. She was from Galilee, kind of the slums of the Jewish nation. The fact that the Bible doesn't say much about her character, I think, says a lot more than if it did :-). There is so much going on here in this passage! I just start to think about what that must of been like for Mary. She is 13/15 years old, trying to keep up the Jewish laws and get ready to marry Joseph, when all of a sudden an angel appears and tell her she is favored by God and she is going to be carrying the Christ Child!! She begins to think of all the ramifications of what that means. She has questions and wonders what life is going to be like. But all the Bible tells us is that she asked one question about not knowing a man. The answer is that the "Most High will overshadow you"!!! She would be in the presents of the Most High God and then carry His Son!!!!! I can't help but think about what on earth would be going thru her mind and heart. To feel such honor that you were chosen by God to bare His Son and then to start to think about what that meant for her here on earth. She would be viewed as a harlot for the rest of her life, Joseph would be viewed as a man who married a harlot!!! Disgraced, rejected, shunned maybe, but she responds with praise, willingness, and humility! Saying, "Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And then God shows His grace so clearly by telling her of her relative, Elizabeth, how she is pregnant and in her sixth month when she was a barren woman, telling her that nothing is impossible with God!! NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!! I love that phrase, and what those words truly mean!!
My heart is so full with this account of Mary's life, when Mary first comes into the picture. She was such a strong girl, to take that on. Having now been pregnant, barring a child and birthing a couple kids, this story takes on new light. I remember the times when Christmas time would come around while I was pregnant, I would often think of these things but never took the time to sit and write about them. In the verses that follow when Mary visited Elizabeth, verses 46-55 is Mary's song of praise. Read them, knowing the story well, about what follows in her life. No wonder she was favored by God!!! What a Gift God gave us all!!
Every year Christmas comes around, at the beginning I start to get all caught up in the buy, schedule, traditions, parties, and what I want to get done. When, about half way thru I get annoyed and sick with myself on where my focus is. My boys are at the age where they understand what is going on and ask questions. Its important to me what I convee(sp?), teach, and pass on to them. Maybe thats why the message on Sunday was so good for me. It helped me get back to the "reason for the season". I'm still and always will be a work in progress, letting the Holy Spirit do the work in my life, so thankful and amazed at God's wonderful, daily grace in my life.