Mary

As I celebrate Christmas I reflect on the people that played the major roles in the unfolding of God's plan of redemption for man. The first person my thoughts are drawn to is Mary. What was she like? Was she seen as different or special in some way by those around her, by her family or her peers? What kind of a person was she? She was so young and yet she was so wise and brave. Can you imagine what was going through her head when one day as she was at home an angel appeared to her and told her that she was going to have a baby. Not only was she, a virgin, going to miraculously have a baby, but that baby was going to be the long-awaited, promised messiah. For most women the news that they are pregnant is such a pivotal moment in their lives. They wonder if they will be able to handle the pregnancy, wonder how the child will change their lives, wonder if they will be able to carry the child through the nine months and then deliver it, wonder it they will be a good mom, and wonder how their husband or significant other will handle the news. Mary faced all those questions and more, for she was not carrying just another child, she was carrying the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What a huge responsibility that was! Did she ever wonder if maybe God had gotten it wrong and assigned this enormous task to the wrong person? What was the mental torment like to wonder how Joseph would respond when he found out she was pregnant? Would anyone even believe her? It was, indeed, an incredible story. But, then again, God is an incredible God. Somehow, Mary, a young commonplace girl, found it within herself to trust God implicitly and to obey Him in everything. She willingly shouldered the burden that was given her and showed strength beyond her years as she embarked on a journey that would change not only her own life but the life of all humanity both past and present. The reason she could do this was because at the bottom of her actions was a heart to obey the Lord no matter what, to trust Him as her guide and source of strength, and to believe that the Lord her God was the One Who went with her through every mountain, through every valley, through every experience. Now, I have to ask myself, would I do the same? What about the things in my life that the Lord has asked me to do that seem so impossible or insurmountable? Do I trust Him and proceed or do I balk and fight so that I won't be asked to do such things? Do I show the same strength and courage that Mary showed, enduring the struggles, knowing that in the end all things will work according to the Lord's plan if only I will obey? Do I realize, as Mary must have, that I have been given an amazing opportunity to not only serve the Lord but to serve mankind in bringing about the will of God on the earth, thus making it a place that better resembles heaven, bringing God's help and light into a darkened, needy world? As I reflect on Mary and her part in the Christmas story my prayer is that I might be even half the woman she was and might say with all my heart, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord! Be it done to me according to your word."