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Be a Mary

Posted in christmas, WONDER, tagged #advent2021, #beamary, #christmas2021, #howwillthisbe, #maryssong, #neveralone, #praisegod, #thelordiswithyou, #thespiritofmary, #whatwouldmarydo, Iamthelordsservant on December 24, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I am a female, so there is only one person from the Christmas narrative that I can even begin to relate to, that of Mary.

I remember, as a child in Sunday School, when someone would be chosen to dress up as Mary in the Christmas concert. I was on pins and needles, hoping I would be chosen. I mean, other than angels, there were few female roles to play.

That said, she was also the one who gave birth to and raised Jesus, the one who came to redeem the world (including herself) of our sin, born in our humanity.

So …
Mary is also a bit hard to relate to.

Here is the passage where the angel lets Mary in on God’s secret mission for the world, the part she will play and how she responds to this bizarre interaction :

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:28-38

As indicated by the emboldened phrases, I think that there are three most important parts of this interaction:

The Lord is with you
How will this be?
I am the Lord’s servant

The angel begins sharing what is come with Mary by encouraging her, saying, “the Lord is with you.” There is no more encouraging message for we humans than to know than that we are not alone, that we will not be left alone. Such a message grows our faith, our endurance, our courage. This message is one that we all receive, when we, in faith, give our lives to God and receive the Holy Spirit who sticks closer than any other.

Mary receives all this news, but does not accept it blindly, for she asks an important question of this angelic being who is weaving an impossible tale, “How will this be?” Her wisdom in asking this question cannot go unnoticed. She is acutely aware that there is no physical, no scientific way she, a virgin, could conceive a child. She needs to know how this will all be possible. She also knows that others will want to know (and how this choosing will impact her life).

The angel gives Mary a response to her question. There is no hedging, no hiding of the facts of how this miracle is to occur. Then, as if in a manner to continue reminding Mary that she is not alone, the angel also reveals the miracle of Elizabeth’s pregnancy in her “old age” (lets face it, Elizabeth is probably my age … dried up reproductively maybe, but NOT OLD). So Mary responds, “I am the Lord’s servant.” No more questions. No hesitancy. No delay in accepting this news.

So, here it is, Christmas Eve …

You and I are not Mary. We are not young virgins, in the Middle East over two hundred years ago.

how can we approach Christmas
with the spirit of Mary?

When Christmas plans fall apart … praise God.

When the gift you hoped for did not arrive … praise God.

When the person you hoped to spend Christmas with isn’t there … praise God.

When your life is not where you dreamed it would be … praise God.

When the one you loved is no longer by your side … praise God.

When you are far from home … praise God.

When arguments happen and hurtful things said … praise God.

When the pandemic rules invade your Christmas plans … praise God.

When you are alone on Christmas Day … praise God.

When the power goes out and the turkey is not roasted … praise God (and make a PB and J sandwich).

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Scary Stuff

Posted in Faith, tagged #donotbeafraid, #fears, #goosebumps, #halloween, #humanfears, #loneliness, #neveralone, #scarystuff, #youmaybewhereiam on October 31, 2021| Leave a Comment »

What accelerates your breathing?

What makes goose bumps form on your skin?

Causes difficulty swallowing?

Invites butterflies into your tummy?

What scares you?

Into every person’s life things will go bump in the night. Our fears are very individual, very unique to each of us. Some fears in childhood dissipate as we get older and mature, others (perhaps a fear of the dark) remain, but we learn to manage.

One person’s fear of thunder and lightening storms may be another’s delight. One person may love to climb to the top of mountains or towers, for the joy of looking below and another may grow dizzy just imagining it from below. Some are fearful of ever throwing anything out (hoarding), whereas others fear loosing the freedom of openness and space.

Some are paralyzed by their fears, others are energized and motivated by their fears.

Today is a celebration to fear … thus, we humans must, at least, revere it in some way.

As Jesus was with his disciples, after the last supper, but before his arrest. During this time he explained his coming departure, he encouraged them, he spoke words of hope to them, words to alleviate their fears. He constantly reminded them that they would not be alone, but that the Spirit, the advocate would be with them.

Fear of being alone is a common human fear. One that has existed since things went awray in the garden.

Jesus speaks (John 14:1-4) to this fear of perceived abandonment:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

When I read these words,

” … that you also may be where I am”

I feel an instant peace, an erasing of fear. My breathings slows, the goosebumps disappear, the butterflies fly away. This, this very message and hope is the good news of the gospel.

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At the End of Myself

Posted in Faith, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #attheendofmyself, #faith, #godresiststheproud, #neveralone, #theendofme, #trustingod on October 30, 2020| 2 Comments »

I have nothing left. I am just at the end of my rope … at the end of me.

Those were my words, my prayer, in the midst of a time of struggle, a time where I didn’t have the answer, the solution, the ‘fix’ for the problem.

As I spoke the words, at the end of me, an odd sense of relief was felt from within out. It was as if my verbal confession freed me from invisible, self administered chains. It was as if this was the most wise next step.

Baffled, that this peaceful feeling could accompany the equivalent of waving the white flag in defeat, I then remembered to whom I was praying.

“God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:5b

Pride … such a human disease of pandemic proportions! And I am not always so quick to admit that I have been infected. I think I need to do all the fixing, the solving, have all the answers. Then, along comes reality and my pride takes a hit … reminding me that there is a higher power, a greater one, who has a plan and purpose that can come of the chaos in my life … and he doesn’t need my efforts, so much as my obedience, my reliance on him.

“Coming to the END of MYSELF and all SELF effort…seems to be the very point that God steps in and shows HIMSELF to be more than ENOUGH.”
John Paul Warren

That peace that accompanied my forfeit … that was God, as I submitted my ‘power’ to him. I still was worried, I still had concerns and I still had more questions than answers, but I had been reminded that I was not alone, that I did not have to do anything … except trust, stay close to him.

“God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.“
Matthew 5:2-3

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Packing Up the Dreams

Posted in GOD, life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #jesusisthesame, #neveralone, #nochange, #packingupthedreams, #transitions on May 6, 2018| 1 Comment »

A beautiful spring Saturday, and I was completely unaware of what I was missing outside, as I wrapped and packed framed photos. It took far longer to pack up these personal items, for each image took my mind back to a time gone by. I kept hearing the words “packing up the dreams” (Michael W. Smith) playing over and over in my mind.

In a number of weeks I will go through this all over again, in reverse.

Times of life transition are like my picture-packing experience. We look ahead with excitement and fear, we look back with longing and thankfulness. We look ahead, and feel that life is moving too slow, we look back and feel life has moved too fast.

The words of Hebrew 13:8 have been echoing in my mind and heart over these past months of numerous life transitions:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”

These are not just nice, fluffy words, they are a promise to humanity for all time.

The yesterday is not just twenty-four hours ago, but every yesterday that has ever passed. Jesus Christ has always been, as he is.

The forever spoken of is just that, every day from this point forward.

He was, is and will always be the same, and he was, is and will always be with us. No changing, no transitions … just the same.

Though I am a lover of, an adrenaline junky for change, knowing that Christ was, is and will forever be the same gives me more comfort and peace than could any other.

And so, as I pack up these dream that God planted, I do so with the assurance that Christ, who lives in me, is the same no matter where I am going.

That should comfort all who are in the season of transition.

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