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Mary Pondered

“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
(Luke 2:19)

Dear Family and Friends,
Ever wonder and ponder the Christmas story of old?
It really seems to make no sense . . .
It starts out with young Mary,
a Jewish unmarried maiden,
raised in a God fearing home.
Joseph, her fiancé is older
and known to be quite a virtuous man.
His family too provided a godly heritage and lineage for him.
With their credentials, all seemed to be going quite well,
But into their wedding plans comes this surprise baby,
A Supernatural Miracle.
Confirmation comes by way of angelic messengers,
And an older relative of Mary’s.
Yet for nine months there must have been thoughts of:
What next?
Why us?
What does this really mean?
How will this ever work out for the best?
Can we honestly raise a King?

The final straw must have been that trip to Bethlehem.
Now they would be away from family and friends,
Who would help them with the birth?
Any plans they may have had for help were nixed . . .

All we read of next,
Is that the baby is born at night
In a back inn stall,
Swaddled in cloths,
And laid upon a feeding trough.
Certainly, the parents must have wondered and pondered:
Was this really the way the Messiah,
Wanted to enter into human life?
The Creator of the world and infinite universe
Using His creation to create Himself?



What a confinement!
What vulnerability!
What humility!
God was entrusting them
With His only one of a kind Son,
Hadn’t human flesh failed God so many times before?
No wonder, Mary pondered . . .

It had to be too much,
The parents must have felt plain overwhelmed,
Just when fear could have taken off and captured their hearts for good,
God shared His story to the few fortunate shepherds on the hillsides,
Watching their flocks that night.
With spectacular angelic fanfare,
The shepherds were told “Fear not, all is well,
For Christ the Lord has come.
The holy baby has been born,
Go and find the One
Laying in the feeding trough,
He is your Savior!”

They left their flocks and quickly came and searched,
Until they found the baby in the trough.
After they had seen the baby,
They told everyone everything that they had watched and heard.
All who heard the news wondered,
“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

It’s no wonder that Christmas comes at the close of the year,
A perfect time to ponder,
To put together,
To compare the events of all this year. . .
Peace then comes only by placing our trust
In Him, the One who lived among us,
and came alone to save us.

So remember this season
To wonder and ponder Jesus,
Your Savior to be!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

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