how can a mother sing the song, "what child is this?" without
weeping? we've held our own precious little ones on our laps
and laid them to rest countless times. to think that mary did
the same with the King of kings bears reflection.
He was heralded by angels but was laid in a manger, and mary
treasured these things in her heart. no place is it recorded that
she said, "what? my Son, the Messiah, must have the finest
room in the inn. don't you know who He is?"
could she see the glory of the Lord on His tiny countenance
as He lay there?
simeon did "and took Him in his arms and praised God saying:
. . . for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have
prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the
gentiles and for glory to your people israel." (luke 2:28-32)
and then he said to mary, " . . . and a sword will pierce your
own soul, too." (luke 2:35) truer words were never spoken.
when my children were misjudged or treated unfairly it killed
me. i wanted to strike out and protect them.
she seems to have been submitted to His destiny; "whither thou
goest, i will go . . ." as another handmaiden had said years
before. (ruth 1:16, 17)
i fear that, as a protestant, i have robbed mary her due. she
was not perfect and even admonished by her Son a couple of
times as He grew in stature before God and man, but she had
qualities i would love to see in myself:
humility
devotion
courage
contemplation
obedience
faith
"this, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and
angels sing; haste, haste to bring Him laud, the Babe, the
Son of mary."
love,
lea
35 comments:
I have thought of that many, many times. God after all chose her to be the mother of His Son. When you do start thinking of all of the passages about Mary, you can only be in awe of her, what other mother stood at the foot of the cross and watched her son die for the sins of the whole world.What other mother goes to the tomb to embalm her son and finds the tomb empty and her son risen. She went though such a hard life if you think about it.
sweet kim
Such a sweet post! And, she was so young!
Happy Sunday!
Karen
Beautiful. How obedient was Mary, to say "yes".
So Beautifully said! I too want to fight for justice when it comes to my children, and to protect them from anything that could hurt them- I cannot imagine the pain that she felt!
Thank you for the comment on my blog, and for the compliment on my pictures, but I cannot take any credit- they are from Country Living.
I think of Mary quite a lot,
especially when hearing that
beautiful song, "Mary, Did
You Know." And think of how
young she was, supposedly a
teen. I wonder why so little
is actually said of her when
she was chosen among women to
bear the King of Kings and
Savior of the world.
Beautiful...
Blessings,
andrea
Beautiful post my friend... I think it is truly amazing to step back and look at all Mary endured.. for she defines unconditional love and belief in her son; truly an inspiration of motherhood! HHL
loved this post. beautiful!
She had a "yes" in her heart before He asked ... so He blessed her with all those wonderful qualities to help her through. Our faithful God! He equips us for our callings. He can do a great deal with one who has a "yes" in their hearts. Listening for what He might be asking of me today.
Sweet, Lea, you have such a humble heart. One He and I treasure!
Blessings,
Cheri
All generations will call her blessed! Lovely post, Lea!
All generations will call her blessed! Lovely post, Lea!
Hi Lea,
This post is very heart touching , yes Mom are the world to the child.
And I see you have all the quality.
A loving heart is itself infused with all these qualities default and you posses all of them , which are directly reflected in your writings too :).
Its always a Pleasure to read and gets a lots of learning from it.
Your children are blessed having you :)
Take care
Keep smiling :)
With Love
Vivek
Mary pondered much - in her heart. I sometimes find myself wishing that I pondered more .. and spoke less. Only a mother can relate to Mary in ways that others simply cannot.
Blessings as we celebrate Christ's birthday
Patrina <")>><
This was lovely, but also interesting Lea. I was raised Protestant and, as an adult, became a confirmed Episcopalian (which my husband affectionately refers to as 'junior Catholic").
When I saw the movie, "The Passion of The Christ", it made me take a serious look at Mary for the first time. After that, when I did my bible readings, Mary and I became close. I began to use the rosary (a strictly Roman Catholic thing)as a way of communicating woman to woman, mother to mother and sometimes child to mother.
I don't use the rosary religiously like many Catholics do because I can talk to Mary like I talk to my dearly departed grandmother, BUT, when I need to focus intensely, after I pray to Jesus, I will pick up my rosary.
Many folks hesitate or wouldn't consider blurring the lines of faith that way...much the same as the many voters only voting a straight party ticket, regardless of where candidates stand on the issues.
I don't advocate it for others, but I know God chose Mary to be the mother of His son for many perfect reasons...and I have chosen to learn from her and her life and have found great comfort in it. :)
What a beautiful post about Mary. I do think that we protestants tend to forget about Mary's role in Jesus' birth. Our pastor spoke about the cost of Christmas to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. I think that we should all strive to have the faith that Mary must have had to accept her calling in life. Thank you for the beautiful reminder. Carla
What a beautiful post, Lea.
I've always loved Mary! What a special, God selected girl she was. These were beautiful words Lea!
Totally agree with your final statement of robbing Mary...I felt that so much when I watched "The Passion"...I walked out changed from the role of Mary
Then the song "A Baby Changes Everything" or even the birth of each of my children..."and she pondered these things in her heart"...oh my!!
The story never gets old...it only grows more special and meaningful with each year!!!
I hope you had an awesome weekend..even though very busy...I prayed for you! I remember following my husband to all his singing engagements! Have a blessed week...maybe one day you can post a video of you singing!!! What a joy that would be!!!
That was such a sweet and beautiful post!!
It's wonderful to know that YOU sing, too! Music means so much to me! I'm hoping to teach voice in Boise and do a lot more singing! What is your favorite music to sing?
Karen
I will have to check out that book.
Christmas programs...oh, my, our first was born the end of November and my husband had a key role in the "Singing Christmas Tree"...have you ever done one of those? So here I was age 22 with a new baby and he was gone every night working on the Christmas program...he took a picture one evening when he came home...I am asleep on the couch with our new born son!
Enjoy your singing...he no longer sings and I know he misses it so much...but he does set down on our grand and plays while singing...the kids laugh since they think he sounds so old...poor guy!
This year I am having his album put into CD's for my grandmother, his mother, and his sister...they still enjoy hearing his "old" voice...well the voice was young when recorded, but the old songs now.
Rest and enjoy your week...and I look forward to the story on Wednesday...I will get that tea ready, so come on!
Hi
I am soo glad you stopped by to visit me as this has led me to visit you and discover yet another wonderful blog.. = ) My 5 year old grand daughter was just totally enamored by Mary last year when she heard the story of the first Christmas. She pretended to be her and went around with a towel on her head and carrying her baby etc. It was just adorable. I too have thought of Mary OFTEN...Yes, she was just an ordinary woman, and YET she was BLESSED amongst ALL women. Can you only imagine watching her son die on the cross or all the rest that He endured? Can you only just imagine knowing you were having a baby and yet knowing you'd never known a man. How overwhelming really for a young girl. She truly was blessed. Such an honor really, and yet what a lot to bear. I am glad I came by...I'll be back for sure. BLESSINGS, Debbie
Oh Lea, always so thought provoking.
Mary was so very courageous at such a young age...oh to have such faith...the mother of the KING of KINGS... and to watch as the world rejected HIM, Not only the Savior of the world, but ultimately this is your baby...your son...I can not begin to be able to know her pain.
.....sending you a hug, on this cold December evening....xoxo...Rosie
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Like you I strongly feel that Protestant should embrace the whole Holy Scripture with equal awe.
The wonder of Jesus being born of a maiden never stops to seizes my heart.
She must have been bewildered and despaired through her nine moth pregnancy.
No wonder she "took the words and hid them in her heart".
Mary was so young and inexperienced to be given such responsibility ... what a woman.
Dear Lea,
Thank you for your sweet comment on the video post of my son's trip to Haiti. He said they managed to see 84 patients that day. The villages were remote, and they had to travel in daylight, so hours were short. Later that day there were riots and the part that I can't say out loud without sobbing; they were trying to pass their babies in through the windows.
I hope I have more to share in the following weeks. Thank you for caring. I don't need to tell you how that feels to a Mother.
Sincerely, Debbi
Hi Lea,
I have been sitting here enjoying all your sweet Christmas posts. At this time of year, I always say to myself, "Live each day like you are Mary."
What a beautiful time of year!
Kate
A beautiful post, Lea. Thank you.
Wow! What a beautiful post, Lea!!
So eloquently written!!
I have thought about Mary from time to time. To be chosen out of all of the righteous Jewish women from the lineage of David, to bear the long awaited Messiah, truly speaks volumes about her.
Thank you for your posts - I have enjoyed them all!
something that was impressed greatly upon my heart,
"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19 She kept it in her heart, who her son was, the Savior of mankind was here...truly unimaginable :) Beautiful post (as always)
Thank you for your sweet post :)
A merry Christmas to you,
with love
This is one of the most moving Christmas songs. I love this post. Compelling and thought provoking. Just lovely.
One of my favorite songs. Very well put Lea. It's amazing and I marvel at how even Jesus didn't "have it all" back then. I'm afraid I wouldn't have acted as Mary did.
Beautiful thoughts, Lea. I truly can't fathom what she experienced as a mother to our Lord and Savior. I do know she had to be an extraordinary person to be chosen by God to mother His son. Her response to the angel in Luke 1:38, "May it to be me as you have said," perfectly demonstrates her humble spirit.
As a single woman who has never given birth, I think my only regret is that I can't really relate to Mary's experience as the mother of our Savior. So, a few years ago, a good friend who was due on that December 20 wrote to me every month to tell me what she was experiencing, and relating it to what record we have of Mary's timeline. What a blessing to have such caring friends, and what a blessing to get a glimpse of treasured moments I will never experience firsthand.
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