More like Mary

Personal Photo: A new day, a fresh start, God's light washes away all of the fear of uncertainty and of our future. We have the chance to let God lead our lives and hearts, this year more than any year before now!

The early morning sunshine streaming through my bedroom window cascaded onto my face, and I begrudgingly opened my eyes. It was January first, the fresh start to the new year ahead of us all. I am not a huge celebrator of midnight on New Year's Day, but have always enjoyed the beginning of something untouched, something completely new, and yet at the same time, strangely familiar. I laid there for awhile, enjoying the warmth of being underneath my covers, the quiet of the morning. As I began my morning prayers, I found my mind wandering to resolutions and goals, the things that I want to harness this year, the yearning for growth. Since just coming off of the celebration of Christmas, I have been finding myself considering Mary, the mother of Jesus so very often as of late. What a remarkable pillar of strength and patience, and one that I would very much love to sit down with, to ask all of the questions bouncing like pinballs through my mind. When considering the type of person I might like to be, she stands out to me.

Mary was a virgin when the angel of the Lord visited her. This is when we first meet her in the Bible, at the beginning of such an incredible journey. We get no insight as to her life before this and things such as her day to day, her personality, her characteristics, are all left unspoken. Gabriel is sent to speak with Mary when the Lord calls her to carry Jesus, and it is described in Luke 1:26-38:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

This passage from Luke is so powerful, so humbling. What startles me most about this interaction between Mary and the angel Gabriel is Mary's response. Without hesitation, her faith stood valiant above fear and worry. Asking only one question and accepting what most would consider an impossible response, Mary willingly stepped into the important role that God called her to fulfill.

When looking at this fresh new year, this chance for all of us to become better people, better children of God, I wonder intensely the type of person Mary was to be chosen for such an incredibly challenging and rewarding and heartbreaking place in Jesus's life. Since we do not meet her until the moment she is told of her role, I can only imagine the Lord watching over her with such great love and care, knowing what was to come. I think of us all now, knowing the end of the story when we read the beginning, and understanding the pain that Mary must have gone through so many times, and I find a yearning to become more like her. We have the ability to cultivate strength as she did, faith like hers, patience just as intense, and find peace in the Lord like she had to have done over and over.

A few things stand out when I consider Mary's faith in this moment and every moment after this. Mary was engaged. There was nothing but shame to befall her if Joseph did not believe what Mary told him. She put her marriage, her reputation, her entire future for a husband, family, and stable life all at stake. She demonstrated incredible submission to God, trusting Him entirely to have all the details worked out for her. Her identity as a child of God was more important than any other identity she may have on earth. We can apply this to ourselves, as we put God first in our lives. We are first His, and then everything else. When we practice the same faith as Mary, we find ourselves in a similar state of peace, even when it might be turbulent around us. God did not let Joseph walk away from her, but rather sent an angel to confirm that she was not a liar and put to rest his fears. When we prioritize our submission to the Lord, everything else in our lives falls into place too. Our fears can be put to rest, and we can trust in what the Lord is doing for us.

As Jesus grew up, Mary's role as a mother was entirely unique. She carried Jesus, nursed Him, and loved Him tirelessly. However, she had to let Him go. Jesus spent His time with a wide variety of people, found Himself in places that were not safe, and ultimately sacrificed Himself so He could save us. I find it incredibly challenging to try and put yourself in the shoes of Jesus, but almost just as hard to do the same thing with Mary. How did she cope with the pressure, handle the worry for her child, manage the weight of heartbreak when watching her Son suffer? Mary was at the cross when Jesus was crucified, and we know this because Jesus takes care of her by telling John to look after her. I find myself inspired to channel such intense intimacy with God. There is no way that Mary could have handled the situations she found herself in without knowing God very closely, trusting in His character, knowing His will is greater than ours. In this way, we can set the same goal for ourselves: to know God so closely that we realize our suffering and worry is going to be taken care of by our Almighty, loving Father.

Mary's fears were very real and quite justified. Not only did she fear for herself, but she feared for Jesus as well. She feared she would lose her soon-to-be husband, her reputation, her circle of friends, and then she feared what would become of her precious Son, how she could protect Him, what would happen to Him, and how to love Him while letting Him go. None of these fears inhibited Mary from completely and entirely submitting to God. She trusted in the Lord when she was told to not be afraid, and we have the ability to practice the same trust when we fear. Even when we do not have all the answers, or do not understand what the answers may mean, we can take that leap of faith into God's arms and trust that He will not let us fall, but rather He will bring us peace and guidance.

As you and I kick off this new year, I hope that on all of our lists of resolutions, we have written down to be a bit more like Mary. Such a powerful role in the life of our Savior, she is worth taking inspiration from, and she teaches us to lean into faith like hers. We can learn to trust in the Lord more than we do today, we can take leaps of faith even when we are afraid, and we can find peace in the Lord even when the world around us may be crumbling. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I am so beyond grateful for every single one of you that reads this article and shares it. God bless you!