Christmas gets closer and I think of Mary.
The Mother of Jesus.
When the angel appeared to Mary, did she have any idea as to what she was promising to do? Did she know she that as a pregnant unwed girl the town would talk about her? Judge her? Did she realize that people would not understand or believe her explanation of why her belly was growing? Did she even try and explain this mystery? Did her family believe her and support her?
And while she was pregnant she must have wondered about the baby she was carrying. Would he be like other babies? Look like other babies? Was she prepared to be a mother? And how do you mother the son of God?
She must of thought about what kind of mother she would need to be, and not really known. She must have wondered many times over if she really was favored of women. Like when she was giving birth in a dirty stable with a husband as her only help. When she was fleeing to Egypt. Or on those days where dirty dishes and laundry piled up and she felt totally unprepared for the task at hand.
As she was changing his diapers, wiping his nose, teaching him to walk, showing him how to make his bed, and a million other things mothers teach their children, she must have wondered when he would show signs of being the son of God. Would his life progress like the lives of other boys, or would one day he be suddenly transformed into something new and different? She must have in the quiet of the night wondered how he would change the world in a big and noticeable way?
How could she have not wondered many times over why God had chosen her as Jesus’ mother? Her, a young nobody. Especially on those days she and Joseph fought, she felt overwhelmed with life, she lost her temper, gossiped with others, and felt like a bad mother. On those days when she felt poor and saw others with more wealth, opportunities, more power than Joseph and her could ever provide to their son.
Christmas circles around and I think of Mary.
Especially the year I was pregnant with my last born and I spent all morning in bed that December, trying not to move so my breakfast would not heave back up. As Christmas drew nearer, I thought of her more and in a way I never had before. We were both pregnant, yet separated by a few thousand years. And I wondered if so much joy of being pregnant was taken from her because she couldn’t loudly share the news with all her friends? Who did she talk to and confide in, besides her Aunt Elizabeth? Did she have morning sickness and have to try to pretend she was fine? What were her thoughts in the quiet of the night? Her fears and anxieties?
Mary willingly offered to be the mother of Jesus, not knowing exactly how this decision would affect the rest of her life. Not knowing the specifics and fine print.
What pregnant mother really sees into the future and realizes what being a mom will really entail and pull from her soul? As our belly swells and we prepare for the birth, do we ever picture our self as tired, un-bathed, with all our patience gone and what little love still left in our heart from the knock down hard day quickly drying up as our child before our very eyes transforms into the hellion from who knows where because we poured maple syrup on their pancakes and not besides their pancakes.
Who of us says we will do something, like love another unto death do us part, accept a new job, take on a new title and responsibility, or babysit the neighbor’s bird for three months, and really comprehend what we are promising to? Do we really see the joys and disappointments we will face and the challenges that will try us? And if we really knew all the work and tears and problems would we have been so eager to say yes?
Did Mary ever regret saying yes?
I am sure after the pain and mess of birth, she held Jesus and looked him over. Ten toes. Ten fingers. Male child. Nose and two eyes. A helpless baby that would need so much from her. I am sure she started falling in love with him as she cuddled him close, smelling his baby scent. Tumbling over the cliff of motherhood, her love and life so intertwined with his as he grew over the years that she would have done anything physically possible to spare him hurt and pain. She would have gladly protected him with her own life. This is what mothers do. What deep love for another is like, whether parent, mate, sibling, or kindred soul.
In the end, we have a lot in common with Mary.
She promised to do a task, and she carried her task out. Not perfectly, but to the best of her ability.
She did not know the end of the story, or all the steps along the way. She had to quiet her doubts and trust God; put away fear and walk in faith; and without access to the future she could only traverse life one step at a time, trying not to worry about the unknown or unexpected.
We are not so different from Mary, for we are called to do the same.
Join the discussion: What do you think Mary thoughts were?
May link up at Maree Dee (#Grace & Truth), Anita Ojeda (#inspirememonday), InstaEncouagements ((IE Link-Up), and Jeanne Takenaka (#tellhisstory).
Linking up at Jennifer Dukes Lee (#tellhisstory)
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Wow!! Inspiring. Thank you!
Bliss. Glad it inspired you.
Good thought provoking questions makes you think
Thanks Jessica.
Thank you for a good perspective. I don’t think any of us have any idea of what we are in for when we ask God into our life or to grow us. Faith in uncertainty is hard, but it is so comforting to know that God is actively working for our good. Thank you for a good article. 🙂
Good points, Ashley. None of us know what to expect when we ask God to grow us. But God does actively work for our good. There is so much comfort in these thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, when we ask God to draw us closer – well, be careful what you ask for. A quote that comes to mind: “God speaks to us in our lives but shouts to us in our pain” – not my quote & perhaps not word for word – but the gist is there.
Interesting quote. Maybe because when we are in pain all we really hear (or pay attention to) is shouting.
Wow, so thought provoking, Theresa! I think she would have at least some fear and anxiety, but not for lack of faith and courage. She would have met her mission head on, each morning she rose to feed baby Jesus, with the wonder her heart always held for this miracle. That, I assume, drove her on, forward into the future the Father appointed and anointed her to have. I think she must have been extremely humble, too, to carry this load from conception to birth, to childhood, into His adulthood, into His ministry and death. As time went on she knew His majesty, but through human eyes it still may have been a temptation to doubt and lean on her own understanding.
Good thoughts, Katie. Knowing Jesus through human and mother eyes must have been quite humbling for Mary, and yet in a way ordinary as he was part of the family and similar to the rest of the family.
Oh, Theresa, this is so beautiful and right up my alley for I have been pondering the humanness of Jesus these last two weeks on Being Woven. His heart, His ears, His eyes, and His mouth, and the abilities that go with those organs. I love Mary and her ponderings. You have added to what I have often thought about.
Blessed to have had you as a neighbor at a linkup.
Caring through Christ, ~ linda
You are so welcome, Linda. I never thought much about Mary until I was pregnant with my second child, lying around being sick, when I began pondering Mary and things from her viewpoint. And now I do every Christmas. And I am not alone. May be the mother’s heart we have! So glad you are writing about this.
Theresa, I always find it amazing how a few words will convey months or years. We have to dig deep and ponder what it means in “real life” as you did here with Mary. She conceived and gave birth – is nine months, yet we can read it quickly. I appreciate you diving deep with Mary.
Lisa, you are so right. A thing we say yes to can take months and years commitment from us. And we do often stop and ponder along the journey.
Theresa, I love your thoughts here. So many good questions. I don’t think I ever stopped to think about Mary from my own mother’s point of view like you did. She was so very young, and had no knowledge of how things would turn out, yet she confidently said “yes” in obedience to the Lord. How encouraging to think of her implicit trust in God’s plan for her life!
Yes, such implicit trust in God’s plan. I remember being young and having no knowledge and signing up for things I had no idea what I was getting into. Now I am older and more knowledgeable, and experience has taught me that some things are just not a good idea or fit. I hope, though, never to lose implicit trust in God and the desire to say yes to Him no matter what.
Theresa, this beautiful post tugs at my mama’s heart as I think of my own children and all that Mary must have experienced. The joys. The struggles. The heartache. The wonder.
Lately, I’ve been praying the words she so willingly said, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.” May I grow to be more like this young woman and love Jesus wholeheartedly.
Thanks for linking up!
Peace and grace,
Tammy
Tammy, I have thought of Mary and her experience more with my son. Because she was also raising a son. Yes, to becoming the handmaid of God.
I think I would have worried extra hard about whether or not I was mothering right..what a giant responsibility, to nurture, raise, and care for the Messiah! Mary must have been a very self-assured, confident young woman (or one with a close relationship with God so she could go to him for confidence and parenting advice instead of the ladies at the communal well).
I know I would have worried if I was raising Jesus the right way. I did with my own children. With my last one, I was older and understood parenting was more serious. Things really could go wrong, and it was not as easy as it looked. I agree, Anita, she must have had a close relationship with God.