I have been thinking a lot lately about what I want my New Year’s resolution to be this year. Definitely not weight loss – there is no way I’m setting myself up for that let down again. Nope. I wanted to choose something that I could actually stick to this year. I was riding around in my car a few weeks ago and my favorite Christmas song came on – “Mary, Did You Know?”. I LOVE Christmas songs, but when this one comes on, my world stops. But something about listening to it that day really got me thinking. Man………there is no way she could have prepared herself.
Mary was just a teenager when God chose her as Jesus’s mother. Imagine having an angel come to you and tell you that you were going to become pregnant and give birth to the Son of God. I cannot imagine this – I am not even emotionally stable enough for that! But Mary was. After she ironed out how this was going to go down with her being a virgin and all, she simply responded “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” That was it. No arguing. No questioning God. Mary just accepted that her life was about to drastically change its course and she went with it. How did she do that? One word – faith.
Mary had complete faith that God would take care of her. He even sent an angel to Joseph so Mary wouldn’t have to have an awkward conversation with him. He paved the way for her! Mary simply trusted that He would take care of her and guide her. I question every decision I make when parenting my children. But God trusted Mary to parent,love, and protect His son. Whew honey……….that is some serious pressure! I had to start off proving that I could keep houseplants and small animals alive before anyone would trust me with a baby in my mid 20’s. God trusted Mary and she was just a teenager. She must have truly been amazing! You can’t tell me that every day was easy for her. There must have been times when the doubts set in, but at the end of the day, Mary had faith in God’s word. She believed that He would guide her and take care of her family. She put her faith in Him and she raised our Savior.
I have to think that when Mary cradled her little baby in that manger, that she knew He was going to be amazingly special. But could she wrap her head around JUST how amazing He would be? Could she imagine that He would one day heal the sick, give sight to the blind, feed the masses with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, walk on water, and even call Lazarus from the dead? Could she prepare herself for that baby to save the world? No. She simply trusted God, faithfully did what was asked of her, and watched the miracles unfold.
This train of thought brought me to realize that if the Virgin Mary could trust God enough to become the mother of Jesus, I could probably start trusting Him with my problems. I bring my problems to God. I ask him to take care of them and I leave them with him. Then I start to worry that maybe God didn’t hear me or maybe there was some confusion as to how I want the situation to work out, so I pick my problems back up again. Now let me tell you – no one can stress about things as good as I can. I’ll worry myself into indigestion, constipation, and even acne that leaves teenagers in awe. But not this year. Nope. This year I am going to lay my burdens at the feet of God and I am going to leave them there. I will resist the urge to pick them back up! I am going to trust him to solve my problems in His time and in His way – even when it is not my way. I am going to trust that He knows the longings of my heart and will guide my path to places I cannot begin to imagine.
This year’s resolution is to stress less, pray more, and have faith like Mary. Fingers crossed that I do better with this than I did with weight loss! Happy 2021 friends!
Much Love – Nikki
Beautifully Messy 