Mary, did you know...

God must have thought highly of Mary to select her as the one who would raise His Son. I've often wondered what on earth Mary must have felt when, well, for example when there was no room in the inn.

Now, me? Well, I would have freaked. "Joseph!" I'd say. "Are you nuts?!?! We cannot have the Son of God being born in a BARN! You have GOT to find us a place to stay! God will surely be mad at me if I birth this child next to a cow!"

But not Mary. I'm sure God would have put that in the Bible if she did.

The one time she did "freak out" was when she couldn't find Jesus when they'd left the temple. I think this was God's way of letting us parents know that even Mary & Joseph lost track of their child.

I know we are to be like Jesus, but I think that Mary is a good source for women to look to - after all, she was chosen by God. So, let's take a look at Mary.

Mary cared for others & showed compassion:
She visited Elizabeth, her cousin, who was also with child. In fact, she stayed with her, after she found out Elizabeth was going to have a baby, for 3 months. I feel as women that God wants us to be compassionate. So many times things "happened" in the Bible when Jesus had compassion. "...he had compassion on them and healed their sick." "...Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him." Let us realize that compassion toward each other shows more than just emotion - it is followed by, and should be followed by, great acts of love and mercy and miracles.

Mary accepted other's compassion and care:
Ladies, how many times have you told another that you didn't need help? How many times have you tired to do things - physically, spiritually, emotionally - on your own. Mary accepted other's compassion and care for and to her. First, she accepted help in anointing her "dead son's" body: "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body." This, in itself, is a huge statement. Notice the women were the ones who were taking care of people, even while they were "dead." Notice also that in Mary's time of grief, she accepted help. I'm sure this help brought her much comfort. Second, Mary accepted that John would take care of her after Jesus left the earth. Jesus, in fact, was the one who "ordained" John to be Mary's caretaker. Oh, if we would but see that accepting help, care, and compassion is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of accepting a blessing ordained from God.

Mary knew when to keep her mouth shut - even when she had Godly news:
I'm sure you're thinking I'm going to talk about gossip here, right? Wrong. This one is hard and involves discernment. Discern means (according to crosswalk.com) To examine, prove or test; scrutinize. Mary had just been told that she was going to have a baby.

Let me stop here and point out that if this were me, the first thing I'd do is worry about what people would think when my belly began to grow. Here I'd be, not even married, and pregnant. With who? Oh, just God's child. C'mon. If you lived in Bible days, would you have believed Mary? What did her family think? What about her neighbors? God hadn't "spoken" to someone for years. Now, out of the blue, this teenage girl is visited by an angel?!

Mary was surely bursting - wanting to tell someone, anyone. I'm sure she had questions. What was pregnancy like? What would it be like to have a baby? Did she need a special saddle to ride the donkey with? What would Joseph think? Would they need to add a room on to the house?

But what did she do? She pondered these things in her heart.

Ladies, I want to point out here that God may give you news. God may give you life-changing, world-changing news, but, you must discern when He wants you to tell this news. I strongly believe that God often reveals things to us that we are to ponder in our hearts. That may be a prayer for a husband, a word about a co-worker, or even an impression on our minds of a loved one in the middle of the night.

We have our best friends. But, don't forget that God is your best friend of all. Ponder what He gives you and test yourself and your motives before sharing his news.

Mary sought the Savior:
"And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren..." Mary no longer had an earthly son. When Jesus died & rose again, He was now her Savior. She didn't comprehend exactly what she was seeking, but she knew she wanted more of Him.

I think looking at the characteristics of Mary can open our eyes to what God expects of us. And, you know, I think it's a lot less that what we expect of ourselves. Many times we build ourselves up as dependant, busy women who haven't the time to accept and even sometimes give help. But, Mary, the chosen of God, was compassionate and able to accept others' help and compassion. She knew when to keep things to herself - even Godly things. And, Mary sought her savior. Did I mention she found him when she sought him?

Praise the Lord!

Sending Flowers to God

I'm a note sender. I send get-well notes and missed-you notes and especially thank-you notes. I love the latter. I hope that my tiny inscription brightens someone's day as much as they brightened mine when they did whatever it was that made me feel special. When someone goes that extra mile(s), I send a gift like flowers.

Yesterday I was overwhelmingly blessed by God in a visible way. (I know we are blessed all the time by things we just don't notice or don't even know about). I mean, it was if God was just pouring and pouring and pouring out more than my mind could hold.

How do I thank God for that? I felt I needed to thank Him an equal amount as was the blessing. But, that seemed impossible.

God, how do I thank you?
I can't send you flowers - You created them.
I can't write you a note - You inspired the very Word.
I can't bake you cookies - You are the Bread of Life.


Lord, what do you want from me to show you just how overwhelmed I am? I know you don't give us blessings to bribe us to do something for you, but if I can do anything, let me know!