The Mother of All Blessings

"Her children arise up, and call her blessed..." Proverbs 31:28

Good morning, dear friends!

Photo: lovetotakephotos pixabay

Happiest of Mother's Day to all my American mom friends today!  I hope this day is incredible for you, and that you make lots of special memories today, and remember lots more.  For those of you whose moms had been "promoted" to heaven, I pray that God will comfort you in His great love today.

Mother's Day in France is not until the end of the month here.  So, I actually get to celebrate this special day...twice!  Isn't it great to live between two countries?

When thinking about the special women in my life who have made such an impact, I have been blessed by at least three moms:  my mother, my mother-in-love, and my adopted mom, my mom in the faith.  All three of these women have left such a lasting impact on my life! I am so thankful for the hours they have invested in my life, and I hope that I will make them proud as I continue to live it.

I have left the most special "mom" in the Bible for today, and I must admit that I am certainly not qualified to speak much about this mom.  After all, there has never been, nor will ever be, another mom like Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus.

It's true that I don't spend a lot of time talking about Mary here in France.  In the country where we live, Mary is unduly exalted in sinless perfection, making her the equal if not superior to Christ.  To spend much time talking about Mary is to run the risk of reinforcing these false notions about Mary to the people with whom we are witnessing.

The truth is, Mary was a woman like me: ordinary.  In fact, she was chosen by God to be the earthly mother for His Son, because of her ordinariness.

What set Mary apart in her "ordinariness?"

1.  She was willing.

Her response to the angel's message, after asking about the "how" of her conception? "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38)

The word "handmaid" in this verse?  A female slave, one who is unquestionally obedient to Her Lord.  To say that she had no choice in the matter is not correct.  Rather, Mary chose to put herself under God's authority as His servant, laying aside her own desires, plans, and wishes, so that she could be obedient to God.

Am I not called to the same obedience in my life?  If I say that God is my Lord, then whatever He asks of me, whether great or small, should I not be willing to do it?

Mary faced many obstacles and heartaches in her obedience to the Lord.  Her life was not an easy one.  She was misunderstood, slandered, and ridiculed for her belief in God's promise.  Those who believed her story could be counted on both hands: her husband (who he himself had to be convinced by an angel), Zachariah and Elisabeth, the shepherds, the wise men.  As time went on, that number grew, but early on in her child's life, how hard at times it must have been for Mary suffer unjustly at the hands of so many who were close to her.

God never promises that faith will be cheap, and that there will not be persecutions for being His servant.  In fact, He promises just the opposite:  "Yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution..." (2 Timothy 3:12)

Mary received confirmation about Jesus's calling from Anna and Simeon in the Temple, when she and Joseph presented Him for His dedication. At the same time, there was also a warning to her, something that probably set off the warning bells in her own mom-heart: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also...)" (Luke 2:34-35)

She knew her Son was destined for greatness, but at what personal cost to herself?  The promise that Mary would suffer is spoken with the same assurance as her Son's greatness.

Would I have had the faith to walk down that road, as Mary did?

2.  She was faithful.

Every child thinks that they know better than their mother, but imagine the case of Jesus! He really did!  And yet, the Bible assures me that Jesus "was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart." (Luke 2:51) Mary knew the miraculous story of Jesus's conception, birth, and God's calling on her Son's life.  To say that these things were difficult for Mary to understand is an understatement.  How humbling it must have been for Mary to know that she had been entrusted to be Jesus's earthly mother and caregiver, responsible for His physical training, as well as His spiritual training.  What a daunting task was set before her!

I wish sometimes that the Bible had more to say about Jesus's growing up years.  I can't wait to get to heaven and talk to Mary about it.  What is obvious to me, is that Joseph and Mary did not shirk in their task, or fail in their responsability to raise Jesus in the way He should go.  And yet, it is not perfection on Mary's childraising that Jesus turned out as He did.  Jesus had an imperfect mother, yet a perfect heavenly Father.

Even with an imperfect mother, Jesus turned out perfectly.  If ever there was an encouragement to my mom-heart, it is this:  I do not HAVE to be a perfect mom.  I will make mistakes.  I will fail in understanding, in love, in patience, in prayer.  God will still use me as a mom, to raise my children to follow Him,  if I make myself available to Him.

There is so much more to Mary's story that it would take more than a simple blog post to think about her life.  If I can just hold onto these two things--that Mary was willing and faithful to the calling God had put on her life--then I will be well on my way to fulfilling God's plan for me as a mom.

I don't know what blessings and burdens God will place on my heart as my children grow, but how I want to be willing and faithful.  I want to be willing to raise my children to love God, and to teach them all that they need to grow up to serve Him.  I want to be faithful in this task, all the days of my earthly life.  I know there will be joys and heartaches, celebrations and sadness, but if I can do these things in my life, I believe I will have done all that God has called me to be as a mom.

May God help all of us moms (and dads) today.  How much I need Him, to do all that I am supposed to do today...