Lessons From Moms in the Bible - Mary

Not till I was older did I realize the trials that Mary, the mother of Jesus, faced as an unwed mother. When I was younger I just thought she had the perfect life. I mean come-on, she was the mother of Jesus. However, Mary was human and she too had to work threw the thing that were thrown at her.  We see in the Bible on 3 different occasions where she is trying to work through what she is handed

In Luke 1, when the angel came to her and said "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. "

She was like. WHAT???

It says she "…cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be."

Then we see the birth in the stable and the shepherds attending the birth. It says that "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart"

Ponder means, to throw together, confer, dispute, come up with. I would go as far to say, "wrap your mind around." Or “fight it out in your head”

Finally the last time, we see her in a difficult situation and she is trying to figure it out. In Luke 2:33-52. When Jesus was "lost" to them and "found" in the temple, it was a scary time for them and you can see the panic in how they responded. However, it says that Mary "kept all these sayings in her heart."

Mary, mother of Jesus, was thrown some huge curve balls.  She was a virgin, Jewish girl engaged to a man and was told by a messenger from God that she would carry the Messiah.  Her baby was born in a stable.  Months later, some very rich men came and gave them very expensive gifts.  She had to flee to Egypt with her husband and child because the king killed all the babies Jesus’ age.  Which means she probably had some mom-friends and those moms may have lost their babies?  She dealt with all this, and then the day came when her boy grew up and died in His 30s.  Think of the grief, she suffered.

Mary was a human and probably had some days when she simply didn’t understand; but one thing Mary had going for her was her faith, her trust in God.

Mary’s attitude shows through in her response to the angel in the first chapter of Luke.

Verse 48 says “ And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.

In other words, I am your servant, Lord. Give me ALL you have, whatever you have.

As a mom, we must repeat those same words to God.

“Lord, I don’t get this. I don’t get your design for my life. I don’t understand why you have me going through this. I just wanted to ______________. Why am I having to deal with ____________?  Lord, I’m struggling. I’m trying to wrap my head around this. BUT LORD, I AM YOUR SERVANT. GIVE ME ALL YOU HAVE FOR MY LIFE, WHATEVER YOU HAVE. BE IT UNTO ME.”

Thy will, thy way, I don’t get it, but I trust you. – Rejoicing in the Present