Advent Thursday Before Christmas: Thinking About Mary

Just Thinking...I wonder how many actual days Mary and Joseph were on their journey towards Bethlehem? I read a few different thoughts expressed by different biblical scholars, and the consensus is that it probably took at least a week to 10 days.  The way from Nazareth to Bethlehem was rough and arduous...no truck stops or Hampton Inns or McDonalds along the way or rest stops with nice bathroom facilities. Just a long, dusty, hilly, rocky, dirty, dangerous road, with no one to protect them except God Himself. 

Now, ladies, for those of us who have given birth, we know how we felt that last week prior to labor and delivery...can you imagine riding for a week or 10 days on the back of a donkey, out in the weather, camping out under the stars at night, regardless of whether it was cold or windy or rainy? I am sure Mary and Joseph were used to harsh conditions...they weren't wealthy people and certainly they worked hard for a living...but even so...this could not be a very pleasant journey for either of them, but most especially not for Mary.

So imagine right now, four days before Christmas, four days before giving birth, imagine yourself in Mary's place...and then to arrive at your destination, and there is no room in the inn (or hospital!)  

"Sorry folks, there's no room in the inn tonight"

Imagine, having to lay down in a cattle stall and give birth, all alone except for your husband and some animals nearby, chewing their cud and resting in their stall while you are crying out in the throes of labor pains...no midwife, no pain meds, just you and God, 

and you are giving birth to His Son, The Savior of the World!

And the Angels came and sang "Joy to the World, the Lord is Come! Let Earth Receive Her King!"

Truly makes us stop and think, doesn't it? I wonder how much "JOY" we would be feeling if we were in Mary's place? Could we sing with Mary as she does in this passage below?

Luke 1:46-55 NKJV

The Song of Mary

46 And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54 He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Amen.

 So as I think about Mary and her journey today toward Bethlehem, and all that she endured prior to that journey...the amazement of being chosen to be the mother of her Lord and our Lord...the possibility of being put to shame because she was found to be "with child of the Holy Spirit", a young virgin girl, prior to her actual marriage to Joseph...and yet Mary said "yes" to God...

Luke 1:38 

"Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! 

Let it be to me according to your word.” 

Yes, if a young woman like Mary can trust God in the midst of all the things that were happening to her,

Then I should be able to trust God for my circumstances in life as well. I've not been asked to endure the difficulties and sorrows that Mary had to face. True, I've had my disappointments and griefs and sorrows in life, and most likely there will be more before Jesus calls me home. But I love what the Angel Gabriel said to Mary when he told her about what was about to happen to her...he said in Luke 1:37,

"For with God nothing will be impossible.”

With God, NOTHING will be impossible!  When we are overwhelmed with grief or shocked at news that takes us totally by surprise and shakes us to the core..."with God, NOTHING will be impossible".  When we are asked to do things that we know would be impossible for us to do in our own strength..."with God, NOTHING will be impossible!"  

Sometimes things happen in our lives that make no sense whatsoever in our natural mind...and we can't see how anything good could come out it for ourselves or anyone else...but then we remember what the Angel said..."With God, NOTHING will be impossible!"

Yet, tonight as I sit here pondering Mary's long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem so many years ago, can you imagine how different our lives would be today if Mary had refused to accept God's will for her life?  What if she had said, "Not me, Lord! Find someone else to be the Mother of Your Son. This is too hard for me."  I mean, she was only human...she was just a teenager with her whole life in front of her.  She probably would never have chosen to go through all of that if she could have gotten out of it...but no, Mary said yes to God. Mary said "Let it be to me according to Your Word."   

Lord, I admit I don't always understand the things You've asked me to do. To be perfectly honest, I don't always like the things You've asked me to do. Some things have really been painful and have caused me deep sorrow and grief.  Some have even been embarrassing and have caused me to lose "friends". But I've been learning something from Mary's example.  When I accept Your direction for my life and  seek Your will first and foremost, "With God, NOTHING will be impossible!".  You are always there, going before me, walking beside me, carrying me when necessary...making the rough places smooth and the valleys not so deep or the mountains so steep. Thank You, Lord, for this lesson that we can learn from Mary's experience today.  Help me to be ready to always say "Yes" to Your will. Amen.

 

One Word for 2021

It's that time again...time to select a "One Word" for the New Year...a word that will guide me through the year as I seek God's plans for my life in 2021.

Here is a link to the Post written in 2020 for my One Word, which was "JOYFUL". The most notable statement that I made in that post last year was this:  

"So I am going to be watching for those "signposts and landmarks" of joy along life's pathway...opportunities to be joyful even in the face of adversity or difficulties.  No, I'm not looking for those things...they just have a way of happening without our seeking them out...so it is my desire to face each new challenge of life with a joyful heart,  knowing that the Lord, Who made me, is going to take care of all my needs regardless of what the world may say.   We are His sheep,  and we know that the Good Shepherd cares for His sheep.  So we can be joyful and trust Him no matter what.  

There you have it: JOYFUL!  Happy New Year!!! May all our hearts be joyful as we begin this brand new year and brand new decade. God is with us, so we need not be afraid to face whatever lies ahead!"

WOW!!! How little did we know just what was lying ahead for us in 2020...right around the bend from when I so "joyfully" declared my intention to "be joyful even in the face of adversity or difficulties."  I guess God was listening and probably was whispering to me, "Oh, My child, if you only knew just what was ahead...2020 with all of its challenges and "opportunities to be joyful even in the face of adversity or difficulties." He probably was thinking how little did I know just how much our faith would be tested throughout this year...but He knows His children, and He knows how much we can take...and He also knows how to rescue us when we are getting in over our heads.  I must say right now, looking back over 2020, that indeed God was there for me every time I needed Him (many times), and He also helped me to to remain "joyful" in the midst of the journey.  I can also say that God was very gracious to me and to our family, and He brought us through so sweetly, safely, and completely. Truly, I have much to be joyful about.

And so now we come to another new year, 2021. I've been praying about this "One Word" thing for the past couple of weeks, and trusting that when the time is right, God will reveal His word for me. I think I know what it is now. A couple of weeks ago someone at church approached me about taking over the "card ministry" for the church, which is essentially sending out greeting cards to people throughout the year for birthdays, anniversaries, sympathy, get well, congratulations, etc.  The person who has been doing it for the past several years is no longer able to continue, but she had it all very well organized and has done a tremendously wonderful job.

My initial response when asked if I'd be interested in doing this was, "Please let me pray about this, and in the meantime please keep asking others who may not have as much to do already if there is anyone else who may be interested in doing this."  My concern was that I would not keep up with it and get the cards out on time.  I tend to put things off to the last minute and I would hate to be late in getting cards to people in time for their special day.  I was also concerned that it would become something that might become stressful to me and I really don't need anymore stress in my life.  But then again...I'd also been praying about ways to reach out to others in our church and to be a better steward of my time in service to the Lord.  And so once again, I received a phone call asking if I would please consider taking over this ministry, and after praying about it I knew that God was asking me to be obedient to His call.

I was just thinking about the Christmas letter that we sent out to our friends and family this year, and the opening paragraph said the following:

“For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:37

Dear Family and Friends,

I don’t know about you, but the year 2020 is a year that I believe most of us want to get finished with and put it behind us for good! With all the horrid lockdowns, restrictions, mask wearing, and most of all the very sad and heartbreaking loss of loved ones and friends, of which there have been way too many, even if only one person that we know and care about, that’s one too many…we just want this year to be over. We want life to return to pre-Covid 19 normalcy, and yet we fear that may never truly happen again. What we really need in 2021 is to BELIEVE what the Angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary in Luke 1:37 above…  "For with God nothing will be impossible.” And to have the kind of faith that Mary had when she responded to the Angel, (vs. 38) “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”  To have that complete trust in God, that no matter what 2021 might bring, we will have faith in God and peace in our hearts that He is in control, and we need not fear."

(A journal book that I had good intentions of writing in last year but didn't get very far)

Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

So, after thinking about this and working my way through this little story today...actually several words have come to mind:  Believe, Possible, and Obedient.   Like Mary in the Luke passage above, she BELIEVED what the Angel said to her and realized that nothing is impossible with God, indeed, as Matthew 19:26 says, "but with God ALL things are POSSIBLE." And then Mary was OBEDIENT to the Lord and trusted Him completely.  Eenie meenie, miney moe... the One Word that seems to stand out to me most is BELIEVE!

This was actually a new ornament I added to the Christmas tree this year. Perhaps it was one of God's ways of getting my attention...

In 2021 I will believe that God will help me to accomplish the things that He is asking me to do. I will believe that all things are possible with God, and I will be obedient to His calling upon my life to serve Him here in His church and community in whatever way He is asking me to serve.

I pray that God will help me to stay on task and accomplish the things that need to be done...and that I will remain obedient to Him in all ways, and serve the Lord joyfully.

So these boxes of cards are now in my home office, waiting on me to do this work faithfully.

May God help me to do it well and that He will be glorified and others will be blessed.

I BELIEVE He will see me through.

Amen.

*Post written in 2019 for my One Word, which includes a list of all my previous years' choices of "One Words".  *Note: If you tried this link earlier and it didn't work, please try again. I fixed the problem I hope!!

Have you selected a One Word for 2021 yet? I hope you will share it with us.