December 2: Read Luke2:19; 41-51 NLT
As a mother, I often wonder how Mary could so gracefully journey this road the Lord has led her on. While her physical journey to motherhood and the journey to Bethlehem as a nine-month pregnant woman must have had their challenges, what I wonder more about is her spiritual journey. For nine months, did she ponder the words of the angel? Did she try to break them apart and decipher the future meaning of them? Did she struggle with the words of God as she thought about the potential future for her child?
The Bible doesn’t record much about Jesus’ childhood and Mary as a mother. What we do know from a short story recorded in Luke about Jesus and his family in Jerusalem for one of the main Jewish festivals is that Mary was frantic when she realized Jesus had ‘gone missing.’ It turns out Jesus was in the temple with the religious leaders, listening, and asking questions. When he was finally found, he proclaimed that he would always dwell with his father. All these things Mary heard, saw, and learned as a mother to the Messiah, she ‘pondered in her heart.’
What does it mean to ponder in your heart? Well, I believe it means constantly placing your heart’s desire up against that of the Lord’s. The things Mary didn’t understand or struggled with, she placed against the heart of God.
Mary’s journey was one of a parent coming to terms with the fact that her son had a much bigger purpose, and she had to release him to that purpose, trusting him to the One who loves him even more than she ever could.
Prayer: Lord, help me to see your heart, to seek your will, and to bring to you my struggles and questions. May my heart match yours.
Reflection Questions
Mary’s heart is a heart of complete surrender to the Father. The things in her heart were that of the Father. When Mary pondered these things in her heart she thought carefully.
What will you ponder this Advent season?
What things in your heart do you need to place against the heart of the Father?
