Baby Steps in the Snow

Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her."

 

We got our first real snow of the winter in Minnesota last night. I LOVE snow and was so excited to be able to take my 1 1/2 year old sledding, make snowmen and just run around in it. Just one problem...he's afraid of it! He was all excited to go outside this morning so my husband got him all dressed up and opened the door but instead of running out like he usually does, he just stood there in the doorway looking out onto the deck which was covered with a couple inches of white fluff. No amount of coaxing from Dad could get him to even try to step a foot out onto that unknown surface. I guess I don't blame him, it has to be pretty scary and seem pretty strange. It wouldn't be much different than if we woke up tomorrow and the whole yard was covered with purple fluff, we probably wouldn't just step right out into it either. Mary did though. Mary had such a beautiful faith and trust in her God. She had to take a huge step. What she was asked was something no one had ever been asked to do before and hers was even more extreme that just "not knowing". Mary knew when she said 'yes' that she was putting herself in danger. In her time, women were often stoned to death for committing adultery, which is what would be assumed when she was found to be pregnant and unmarried. When we step out into the purple fluff, we just aren't sure what we're getting into, it could be dangerous, maybe not.  Mary knew the ridicule she would face, the shame she would bring on her family, and the danger her life was in, but she trusted in the Lord, and just said 'yes'.  And because of her faith, she became the most blessed human being in history, second only to Christ. Can you imagine her relationship with God, to have him actually live inside her for 9 months? To watch him grow up, to be the one that got all of his little hugs and kisses, and to spend every day with him? Kind of makes you wonder what Mary's plan for her life was before this. I suppose she thought she would marry and become a mother just like all the other young women. But maybe there was always a little whisper that she was made for more than 'normal', that she was more than 'ordinary', that she was destined to do something great. 

It's scary, taking that step into the unknown, especially if we are almost certain that it will be difficult or painful, but if our God is telling us it's going to be ok, if he's trying to coax us out, we have to trust him. What fun or awesomeness is waiting for us to say "yes"! Even if we don't have the strength to jump in completely, even a baby step is a step in the right direction. So, quit standing in the doorway and take that first step!

 

Mary, please pray for us, that we can have faith like yours, to say yes to the things that we are being called to do that are scary or unknown.