But Mary
I wake up like coffee, ready to go at full speed. I usually beat my alarm by 15 minutes and tell myself, “you need these 15 more minutes, just lay there.” Obedient to my logic I lay there and “rest,” but if you’re a mom/woman/human you know your mind starts firing up. Sometimes we are even lucky enough to fire up in the middle of the night! The older my friends and I get the more times I hear, “I woke up at 3:45 thinking about…” This is a mark of the aged.
I not so sleepily chug my lemon water to earn my coffee and plop myself down in the chair next to the Christmas tree. I try to just sit still. Breathe in and out. Enjoy these quiet moments of no one asking me “short sleeves or long sleeves?” “What dress up day is it?” “Where is my library book?” and the two year old on repeat, “I want more sausage!”
Breathe in. Breathe out.
I need to plan meals this week.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
We didn’t get grandma a present yet.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
What clients do I have today?
Breathe in.
Help me to be still in Your presence.
Breathe out.
I pull out the Word and behold in a grand performance similar to Linus on stage in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, the text emerges. Luke 2:8-19
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
It’s so lovely everytime. To imagine a multitude of heavenly hosts all saying in unison, “GLORY to GOD!” My heart leaps as I imagine it. Then another piece pops out.
BUT Mary. Mary in contrast to shepherds who were making known what they had seen and heard. BUT Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
We live in an age of, “making known.” I wake up wondering what the world has made known since I went to sleep last night and fight off the urge to check my texts, and emails, and instagram the second I walk into the kitchen where my phone lies ready to “tell.” It feels urgent in a way, though it's not. Author, Shauna Neiquist, refers to this technological-informational separation feeling as, “twitchy fingers.”
The day goes on and I … answer the text, read the email, make the list, laugh at the meme, take a photo of the dress up day and post it because they’re cute (and it feels like everyone should know it), I work, grocery shop, make lunches, fold the laundry, check what has been made known since breakfast, repost something funny, repost something true, pick up from school, snacks, piano, dinner. “Watch this babe, it's so funny,” say a prayer, goodnight.
But Mary.
Her fingers were calm. Her eyes and heart wide open to what was before her. She took a picture with her entire being and invited it in to stay forever. A moment of Glory to revisit and treasure in heavenly awe.
I don’t think we are so different. There are moments of pure gold, joy, and beauty that the Lord opens our eyes to. He’s calling out to our innermost saying, “THIS IS ME! This is me showing you my glory!” And when we’re awake enough, we recognize and see it and then have a choice. Do we pull out our pocket cameras and take a picture that rarely does the moment justice or open our eyes and hearts to fully take it in? No caption creating itself for future use, instead, a sense of wonder.
Now the shepherds did do their job. They were told, they went to see, and they went and told. All who heard wondered at what the shepherds had told them.
How do we know what to tell and what to treasure? But Mary … pondered these things in her heart. She brought them in and let them sit. She woke up to think about them. Took a breath in and out, and brought the moments of glory back to her mind.
In a world where so much is made known I think it’s more important than ever to ponder what we share and what we don’t. I’ve been pondering this since last Christmas and practicing the art of treasuring.
It has mattered. It also feels worth sharing.
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