O, Holy Night

“Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”—Luke 1:38.

“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has regarded my lowly state and behold, henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed.”—Luke 1:47-48.

These simple observances from a young girl opened wide the door for God to enter into His creation to bring us back into relationship with Him.

The whole of creation—above and below—caught its breath in this one moment that God sought hungrily for relationship. Free will responded with surrender and trust, partly because the groundwork of trust had been laid for generations.

This was a young girl raised with the psalms of David on her tongue. She was a girl who naively heard the stories of Messiah and took them on the faith of her fathers. Mary knew with a child’s faith that a girl, any girl, could be the one chosen to birth this great King of Jews; Son of Man; Messiah; Savior of the whole world.

This is a story of salvation, sanctification, surrender and suffering. To be the mother of any child is a testament to surrender and faith. We balance on the ledge between free will and complete surrender. We jump, not knowing if the pool is filled with water. We become mothers, knowing we may have to attend the funerals of those we have birthed before we die. We are relegated to the back playground corner, watching and crossing our fingers that all will be well.

Let it be to me according to your word. And the earth shook.