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“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” – Luke 1:31
When Mary awoke that morning and began about her daily chores, do you think that she ever dreamed she would be visited by an angel that day? As she walked to the well maybe speaking with friends about her upcoming wedding to Joseph, do you think that she could fathom the turn her life would take? As she laid down on the mat in her home that night offering her evening prayers, do you think she had an inkling of how beautiful or of how difficult her life would turn out to be? We have the benefit of looking at Mary in hindsight (from the future) and that view, at times, can get skewed. We know the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, early Church disciple, faithful saint, wife and mother and the Queen of Heaven. We don’t often associate Her with the humble teenage girl Whose life was changed in an instant, and Who changed our lives forever through her “Yes” to life. By “life” I don’t just mean her willingness to participate in God’s plan, or Her giving birth to the Messiah instead of choosing the easy way out, I mean Her YES to all that “life” carries with it, on a daily basis. Everyone searches for “the meaning of life”. Life, though, is not something to be found, but experienced, it is given by God not taken from Him. Life is our humanity at its finest. Life can be described as a search for truth, in which we deal with the pain, yearn for true love, remain hopeful for the outcome, (often) fear the unknown and (usually) don’t like to sacrifice. The truth can be uncomfortable at times; it causes us to be real with ourselves. The pain of broken relationships and lives can seem irreparable, so we lose hope. The love that we yearn for can appear unbearable, when it means discipline or surrender. The outcome that we pray for isn’t always the solution that we most need. The fear that we retain is not from God, but from our inability to completely trust Him. At times, the sacrifice that seems “too great” was not God’s for us, but ours for Him. Sometimes the TRUTH seems more than you and I can bear. But Mary bore all of these things… She didn’t bear Him to “bore” us. She bore Him to bring life, so that we might HAVE life and have it “to the FULLEST” (John 10:10)…thus, insuring that our lives, yours and mine, would never become a BORE. Mary is the perfect example of how to live a life that is never boring. She didn’t know what would happen next, She just said “Yes” to God at that moment, and then kept saying yes to Him with every turn. She jumped in the seat of the roller coaster car, threw Her hands in the air and said “take me where you want to take me”…”may it be done to Me according to Thy will.” Like any parent, Mary would have chosen, in an instant, to take the pain upon Herself, rather than watching Her child go through it. If you have children, you understand. If you don’t have children of your own…ask a parent, and see what they say. Life takes on a different meaning in our humanity when we welcome in His divinity, like Mary did. Through the divine eyes of God, we view our lives from a timeless point of view, not from a temporary human perspective. YOUR life will be viewed much differently by people 2000 years from now, for instance, than you might presently view it. They might not see the hardships you went through or the struggles you had…kind of like when we look back at Biblical figures, like the way we look at our Mother Mary. You will know the hardships, however, and so will God. You will also know the love and happiness, and so will God. And you will have a choice, maybe even today (though probably not with an angel) to answer and follow God’s call for you… The choice you will make…now THAT is LIFE.
-Bible Geek (Taken from lifeteen.com) |
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