Daily Truth: “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:10
I don’t know about you but this is such a busy time of year! Now we are exactly one week from Christmas!! Agghhh!
Ok – calm down!
Add to all the hustle and bustle of the season, one of my little men has a birthday exactly a week before Christmas!
Talk about busy. We all are experiencing it. Christmas programs, school programs, gift buying, food preparing, present wrapping, parties, and the list goes on and on.
Every year I say to my husband, “Next year I am NOT going to be so busy at Christmas time”. And every year – it’s busy.
I think as mom’s it’s even harder to just sit back and enjoy the season. We want to be the best mom ever and meet the needs of all our family members and make this the “Christmas of the year”.
This week I was reminded of Mary, Jesus’s mother. In Luke 2 it says, “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
Now “these things” refers to the shepherds and their news of the angels.
The word ponder means “to consider something deeply, thoroughly; meditate”.
Mary meditated on “these things”. Yet, somehow I think she meditated not only on what happened in Luke 2 with the shepherds and the angels but also on all the events that had transpired bringing her to this point.
Let’s think on Mary for a moment.
First, she is told by an angel that she is going to have baby. Yet, she will remain a virgin. Oh, and by the way, you are carrying the Messiah – the Savior of your people.
Secondly, her aged cousin Elizabeth is pregnant and her baby immediately sensed in utero that Mary’s baby was special.
Thirdly, Joseph is visited by an angel and told to take Mary as his wife and not to be afraid. Especially amazing considering that stoning is the custom for an unwed mother at that time.
Fourth, they travel to Bethlehem from Nazareth. No small journey for a pregnant women near her due date on a donkey. It was roughly 80 miles or about 1 week journey.
Fifth, she delivers her baby safely in a stable. Not her first choice I am sure.
Sixth, she is visited by shepherds that tell her a host of angels came to them and told them where to find Joseph, her, and her new baby.
Never mind that she had no idea that King Herod was determined to kill her new baby or that wise men would follow a star to find her babe.
Neither did she have any idea of all the events that would encompass her baby when He became a man.
Neither could she see the road to Calvary that He would have to travel.
Neither could she see the cross that her sweet child would hang on to die for the sins of mankind.
Neither could she see the tomb that would conquer death.
Yet, here she sat and pondered, meditated, thought on all that had transpired so far.
I am sure she was exhausted, overwhelmed, emotional. Yet, she meditated on ALL the events.
Don’t we get exhausted, overwhelmed, and emotional this time of year. Part of it is because we are so busy. However, we need to look at the example Mary set and take time to ponder, meditate, think on the reason we have Christmas.
It’s not the presents.
It’s not the food, the parties, the programs.
It’s not even the family time.
It’s because God became man so that we could one day live eternally with Him.
That’s reason enough to ponder all these things in our hearts.
Until next week,
Rebekah
