"I have traveled many moonless nightsCold and weary with a babe insideAnd I wonder what I've doneHoly Father, You have comeAnd chosen me now to carry your Son
I am waiting in a silent prayerI am frightened by the load I bearIn a world as cold as stoneMust I walk this path alone?Be with me now, be with me now
Breath of Heaven, hold me togetherBe forever near me, breath of HeavenBreath of Heaven, lighten my darknessPour over me Your holiness for You are holyBreath of Heaven
Do you wonder as you watch my faceIf a wiser one should have had my place?But I offer all I amFor the mercy of Your planHelp me be strong, help me be, help me
Breath of Heaven, hold me togetherBe forever near me, breath of HeavenBreath of Heaven, lighten my darknessPour over me Your holiness for You are holyBreath of Heaven, breath of HeavenBreath of Heaven"
Mary,
mother-to-be
human
broken in places
needing
holds within her the Christ-child, Son of GOD.
She was a girl, young and vulnerable. To believe the angel?
But she turns, lifts her eyes, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."
Does she not have big questions? What is Joseph going to think? Will her own Mom and Dad believe her? This girl, no time to get adjusted to being married before the preparations for a child. She's thinking wedding. Wonder and apprehension for the first night. It's all before her. Arranged and blessed by her parents and leaders. It happening. Her dreams coming true now. Love. Pure and beautiful .......and now pregnancy? Now? NOW? The crowds will gawk. Does she owe them more than a simple explanation? Anyone can try to cover sin. How will mere words convince? She, carrying the Son of God?
Mary had two major things going for her. The first one is this: Her life was devoted. She was in touch with a bigger agenda than her own. An agenda that everything she did filtered through. Devotion. At a base level, God's will was what mattered and she was deeply aware of the presence of her creator. Her ear was tuned to the still small voice with in her, the voice of God almighty. So when the angel appeared, she instantaneously knew she was in the immediate presence of something Holy and Heavenly and her first reaction was to be "greatly troubled"
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most Highwill overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 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. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
"I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." What more beautiful words are there for a handmaiden to say to a Holy Presence? I reread those words. I close my eyes and repeat softly, reverently, letting them sink into my heart. "I accept what God has given to me. Has laid before me. What looks overwhelming, even staggering." 'I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.' I accept this challenge and any hardship that comes with it. I accept the bigger purpose. My Your will, Your agenda, Your purpose be brought forth through me in whatever way You choose." I pray that right now.
The second thing Mary has going for her-- She had a safe place to run to.
Mary hurries to her cousin Elizabeth's house.
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
A friend and cousin. Two women who were both sold out to God's purpose and could be there to encourage each other. You and I NEED that kind of women. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and out of her joyfulness in God's plan manifesting, the coming of the Messiah taking place before her, she calls out to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!" She strengthens Mary with these words, "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
A friend and cousin. Two women who were both sold out to God's purpose and could be there to encourage each other. You and I NEED that kind of women. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and out of her joyfulness in God's plan manifesting, the coming of the Messiah taking place before her, she calls out to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!" She strengthens Mary with these words, "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
I have a few of these kinds of "cousins" in my life. Ladies that strengthen me, call out God's work in me. Set my eyes back on God's work and purpose. I thank God for ladies who understand God's ways and can therefore give me a "piece of God," even though they may not understand every detail about how it feels to be in my exact situation. Mary had this kind of friend, who provided her with a safe place to "hide out" when she needed a quiet and nurturing place to wait. The picture is beautiful and it's the kind of place I want to provide for my friends.
Mary's commitment and faithfulness were "deep things." The kind of things that motivate you on a deep level and governed your "a knee-jerk" responses. But Mary was still human. You think she groaned when Baby Jesus kicked against the walls of her tummy late term? You think she always happily picked him up when he needed to be nursed at night? I think she needed reminders probably same as us, of the big picture sometimes. We picture her as this committed, eager, faithful woman. We picture how, if we knew we were carrying the Son of God, we would be "so motivated!" :P Every time he squeaks we would again be filled with joy at the opportunity to be the mother of this Son of God. I agree, it WOULD be highly motivating!! But we are humans and human emotion cannot run at an all-time high for very long. Sooner or later we tire. I'm sure Mary had to renew herself again and again too. I'm quite sure she had to apologize to Jesus for being impatient with him as a child, again and again. You know what? THAT was part of the deal when God sent his Son to earth. He knew His Son would be subjected to human impatience, short vision, failure, even from the folks who loved Him. Even by the very handmaiden he had chosen to carry and parent His Son. He still chose. THAT is love.
God's Holiness + our unholiness + God's forgivenness + cleansing and worship in our hearts = Redemption
Breath of Heaven, hold me togetherBe forever near me, breath of HeavenBreath of Heaven, lighten my darknessPour over me Your holiness for You are holyBreath of Heaven.....
Today I tap into the same strength Mary tapped into 2,000 years ago as she carried that Child. As she faced the last days of pregnancy, the aches, the pains, the long trip to Bethlehem with her husband-to-be. All the uncertainties, the coming labor, and then the announcement....exactly how would that take place?
And then she held that bloody, smelly, vernix-smeared, crying baby. She wrapped him lovingly, held Him close. She was partnering with God. Redemption, personified, had been born. Hope for humanity lay in her arms. (I cry)
Today I give my life. To God's purpose. To pain, when it comes. To His will. "Breath of Heaven, hold me together." If I can be strong in the Lord, till the day that hope is born. I partner with God, laboring, heaving, panting, sweating, till hope comes forth and all is joy!! The day comes."May Your Word be fulfilled."
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