A Moment for Mary

They say that a child changes everything. They’re right. It does.


Now that I’m a mother, Christmas makes me reflect quite often about Mary. And, these reflections often leave me a little in awe of someone so willing to let God lead her life.

Mary was a young teenager, engaged to the man of her dreams, living pretty much the idyllic Jewish woman’s life. Then, she is miraculously visited by an angel who tells her that she has found favor with God and that she will become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Whoa. Not exactly how you picture finding out about your first pregnancy. And not exactly how you picture the meaning of God finding favor with you. Mary was engaged, but not married. Pregnancy, especially one not by your future husband, really meant death by stoning. Favor, really God?

But, thankfully God blessed Mary with a husband who was … understanding, or at least sensitive to God’s leading. And he led Mary on the 97 mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census. Whether walking, riding on a donkey, riding in a car or flying in a plane, traveling 97 miles when you’re grotesquely pregnant is not fun. And I’m pretty sure a stable, hay, manger, and on-looking animals were not in Mary’s birth plan.

But God is in the business of taking the stuff that would never make sense to us and weaving into a beautiful part of His story for us. And in return for her step of faith, she held the Son of God in her arms.

Maybe I need to let God lead a little more.

Pearls in Progress

As I am wrapping a beautiful pair of earrings for one of this year's Christmas gifts, I am reminded of the Christmas short story I read yesterday in the car where a father, who has been absent from his home for some time, returns to his home and his children on Christmas Eve.  The children believe he is Kris Kringle, a bittersweet moment for the father.  He presents both children with gifts, including a stunning strand of pearls to his daughter.  The father explains that pearls form from something irritating that enters an oyster's shell, which is eventually made into a pearl.

The pearl is another reminder of how God takes things that are irritating and makes them into something far more beautiful than could ever be imagined.

I often ask God to remove the irritating things in my life, the things that don't go according to my plan or make me uncomfortable.  Perhaps instead, I should accept them with the knowledge that, in time, He will use that irritant to create a thing of beauty in my life.  How many pearls do I lack because I asked Him to remove the irritating things or that I simply avoided all together?

I'm sure the oyster doesn't enjoy the pearl-making process, as I'm sure none of us enjoy the things in life that drive us crazy.  And, I'm sure the oyster probably doesn't think the whole pearl-making process, which for it is the process of protecting itself from the irritant with coats of nacre, is quite fast enough.  It takes layer after thin layer of nacre to make a pearl.  It is the same for us.  Little by little, bit by bit, God changes the irritant into a pearl that shows His divine plan, His ability to take the irritating, the annoying, the painful, the unwanted parts of life and make them into something unique and beautiful.

The Fight

I don’t know why my daughter chose today to pick a fight with me over naptime. But, today it was. I could feel my anger rising, and I had to strongly resist the urge to just plop her in her crib, shut the door, and hide down in the basement. It took almost three hours to finally get her to nap, lots of shows on the DVR, and a phone call for Mommy to vent to Daddy about what a little stinker his daughter was. Oh, and a lot of prayer. And now, my daughter is sleeping peacefully, standing up in her crib, resting her head on the front rail, and holding her stuffed teddy bear.


As I was rocking her for the fourth time in this attempt at naptime, praying to God to give me the patience and the grace to make it today, I felt a little nagging feeling that God does, in fact, know exactly how I feel. How I have fought Him and fought Him on something He knows is in my best interest, something that I really need. I think I know better, that I don’t need the nap. And in that situation, I am always wrong. Sometimes it just takes me a while to figure it out, and all the while, God was still holding me, pleading with me to finally give in and let Him be the parent.

So, I don’t know why my daughter wanted to fight her nap today, but I know that God wanted to share a little insight into His role as my Father and His patience with me. So, today I was humbled and thankful for a Father who cares so much for me, and who gives me what I need to be a better mother.