Thanks for helping me with my first steps! Here is an example of my writing, to get things started.
Mary's Hidden Joy
Luke's gospel begins with a beautiful overture. It spends two chapters describing the earliest beginnings of the most important story of all time. We encounter the amazing details of the coming of John the Baptist, Mary's miraculous pregnancy, and the Bible's single, tantalizing story of Jesus as a boy. Lesser known, but no less important are Mary's encounters with the prophets Simeon and Anna, and her song of praise to God for all he has done for her.
These two chapters close with the simplest, loveliest summation you could ever ask for:
…and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
(Luke 2:51b)
It is on this statement which I would like to reflect.
This closing statement is much more than a pretty sentiment. It is a profound act of faith, and one of the many examples Mary's legacy would have us follow.
As I can see, Mary teaches us two lessons with this simple statement: gratitude and patience.
Mary's gratitude is obvious. Her incomparable story is fraught with pain and danger, yet defined by thankfulness at the wonders which she experiences. Such is and must be the nature of all who would answer God's calling on our lives.
And in this moment, I feel that.
The patience Mary expressed when she treasured all these things in her heart needs some explaining.
Have you ever received news so wonderful that you wanted to tell the world, shout it from the rooftops, but had to keep it to yourself? It's kind of a bummer, right?
I imagine Mary dealt with that a lot. Until he began his public ministry at age thirty, Jesus was almost entirely a secret. The true nature of the single most precious and astounding being who ever lived was to be understood by only a tiny handful of individuals until the time was right.
Mary knew that her son was the Messiah, foretold by centuries of Biblical prophecy. She had given birth to him as a virgin. She knew he was the Son of God. She knew that she was raising the child who would redeem his people and turn the world upside down in his Father's name.
She encountered a small few people who understood. And other than them, she could not tell a soul. So what did she do?
She treasured these things in her heart. She received these amazing gifts with gratitude, allowing God to clandestinely sustain her spirit through her long years of humble motherhood, until the dam burst open at last and the glory of her Son was revealed to his people.
It is hard to wait on the Lord. Especially when he has already revealed so very much to you that you wish you could share with others. If you're like me, living in a highly secularized society, your heart must be heavy with all that you must keep to yourself. But like Mary, let us treasure every step of our respective journeys with the Lord. Thank him with all your heart for what he has already shown you.
The little gems shall shine as brightly as the motherload in our eternity with him.
