Can you Imagine???? A New Perspective on Mary

I wonder....does every new mother, who is a Christian, have a completely new perspective on Mary, the Mother of Jesus?? 

This year more than any other year I have thought of Jesus's mother, Mary. I hold such tender thoughts of her now.  I was raised in a Catholic faith where Mary is very revered, something I never quite "got" until this year.  I certainly don't believe in worshipping her, worship is set aside for God the Father, but I certainly believe she deserves great reverence.  Reverence means "regard or treat with deep respect"...yep, she absolutely earned that.

Can you imagine??? You're engaged, you're very young, you're an ordinary Jewish girl, you have little means, and an Angel comes to you and says you will bear, birth, and raise the Son of God???  Can you imagine???  The pressure, the insecurity, the fear, the calling, the amazement of it all??? She didn't totally understand, but she submitted to God's will, was obedient, and believed!

As a new Mother I feel pressure to do things right...to not expose him to harmful influences, to read to him daily, to teach him to be sweet, patient, independent, to cope, to problem solve, to be an example of God's love, to teach Him about Jesus's love and sacrifice, to teach Him about God's creation, about good and evil, and on...and on....and on..........

I also know, without a shadow of a doubt that God specifically selected Karsten for us...and us for him.  God knows his future, the good plans He has for him, his gifts and talents, the great purpose He has for his life....and He chose us to be a part of that.  I know that there will be times when I just don't feel equipped to raise him, I won't know how to lead him, I will be at a loss for words or ideas, I will feel insecure in my role as his mother, and I will continually have to give my dreams and desires for him back to God....the one who entrusted him to us.

All of that saying...Karsten is so special (as every child is), but no child was, is, or every will be as special, as set apart, as Holy, Mary's firstborn.  She knew who HE was.  HE was her Savior and  Son all wrapped into ONE.  Can you imagine???  I know that God annointed her and gave her unfounded grace, peace, and mercy...but she was still human with fears, doubts, insecurities, cares, burdens, and love overflowing for her son. 

I will never forget seeing Karsten for the first time.  I saw God's fingerprints all over him...I'd imagine Mary saw the same thing that night so long ago.  Remember Jesus is fully human and fully God.  He cried, and got cold, and drank milk from His mother, and fell asleep in His Mother's arms that night.  Can you imagine???  What were her thoughts late that night as she looked into her son's face, as she unwrapped him to look at his ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes, as she heard the angels singing???  She wasn't in a home, she wasn't in a comfortable place at all, she was in a stable surrounded by animals and dirt and manure.  Can you imagine???  You have to give birth to the Son of God, the Most High in a place like that.  And yet, when you look at your child and realize the gift you've been given everything else melts away. 

Can you imagine???

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas songs about Mary.  They sang this one on Sunday and although I knew it (because I love Barlow Girl) I really heard it for the first time and it brought me to tears. 

 

and another favorite Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant

 

What lessons can we all learn from Mary?? 

1. Entrust our children and our plans and dreams for our children to God.

2. Be available, submit, and be obedient to His will for our lives.

3. Understand that God's plans rarely line up with what the world expects us to do. We may be ridiculed, mocked, lose relationships, but being at the center of God's plan for us is the safest place to be.

 

 

Comments

[T Gigous]

Thanks for the beautiful reminder!

[Heather Q.]

Awesome story, it really got me thinking. I love Breath of Heaven too, I couldn't stop listening to it and the story went deeper and deeper into my heart each time I heard it, just knowing what she went through. God bless you, Karsten & Brian, you are wonderful people :)

[Kelly]

Lauren Barlow is looking very Taylor Swift-esque. Love both songs. Love you.