It's been a busy fall for me. I asked God to bless my lifecoaching business - and was reminded again that we have to be careful what we ask for!!!! I sure got it this year! He's blessed me to the point of breathlessness! I've totally been amazed at what God has done in both the clients I volunteer with at Love, Inc. as well as my personal clients. Having the opportunity to walk alongside people's lives and getting the privilege of hearing their story is such an honor and blessing. I get to see God working everyday miracles in many more lives than just those in my inner circle.
I've finally put my finger on what is so exciting to me about all this. It's transformation. It's the miracle of lives that change for the better instead of staying stuck in the same old ruts. It's lives that have been so transformed from the ordinary responses of the world that you can't help but see God's work. It's the young woman with cerebral palsy who has become paralyzed and legally blind with a 3 year old and an 11 month old to care for. Even though as a nurse, she was the major bread winner and is now on disability, the amazing faith and determination she exudes is surely nothing other than other-worldly. It's the single mom who has lost her business due to health reasons, but is starting back up and not giving up. It's the young mom living in the government housing who got a sudden burst of goal-setting, taking on 2 jobs to get out of her surroundings, but as the going got tough, recognized her goals don't have to be given up. She's now tweaked the timetable of reaching those goals now that she has seen that her kids need her at home in the evenings. It's also the woman who thought she had finally found love, who has battled through the dark tunnel of rejection and shattered dreams to realize God is her first bridegroom and who gives her all she really needs (even though she still would like a man with skin on here on earth.) And, it's the girl who hasn't been to church since she was a child, but is finding solace only there after losing a young friend unexpectantly is a tragic accident.
And that's why this Christmas, Mary's response is what stood out to me like the star in the east. "Be it unto me as You have said." What a response to the realization she was to suffer disgrace and shame and heartbreak. "Be it unto me as You have said." What a response to model after. To be able to submit in quiet grace to whatever is put in our path. Mary couldn't have understood all of what carrying that baby was to mean. But because she did, she allowed us all to be saved from utter damnation.
"Be it unto me as You have said." How hard it is for me to have that attitude even when faced with much less discomfort. Instead, the response is usually, "Why me?" , "How long will this last?", "Take this from me, Lord."
A Mary Christmas. I wonder what that would really be? For now, I just pray that I can begin to understand what facing this life like Mary would look like. I begin with gratefulness for all the comforts that I have been blessed with; and a relinquishment of worrying about all that is not right ; resting in peace that He has it all under control. Even when the situation looks really bleak. That's a Mary Christmas spirit. That's peace on earth. May you have a Mary Christmas.
Have a Mary Christmas
The angel came to see her,
and Mary bowed her head.
In humble submission she whispered,
“Be it unto me as You have said.”
This part of the Christmas story
is not the part we sing of most.
We love to hear of the baby
and the singing of the heavenly host.
But Mary shows us the position
we should assume to celebrate
the birth of this Savior
who came to secure our fate.
Not one of just thankfulness,
boasting of the blessings that we’ve been given,
but one of ubmitting to the pruning
we may receive this side of heaven…
To accept that all is not well
here on planet earth,
even though we sing of peace
as we celebrate this birth.
For the peace we have, like Mary
does not depend on gifts under the tree,
or the absence of pain,
or perfect tranquility.
The peace we have is a sword
that cuts through the trappings of earth,
so that even in suffering
we can rest in its amazing worth.
Like Mary we can face
what we can’t always understand,
knowing whatever comes is bestowed
from a sovereign hand.
She walked in quiet trust
though being shamed and misunderstood.
And then the hardest path of all -
seeing her Son sacrificed for our good.
And so as I reflect upon the mother
who bore much to bear this Son,
I feel thanks toward her and the Father
for giving us the One
That is our whole salvation,
that came to wipe our every tear.
And so a Mary Christmas is what
I wish for you this year.
(If poetry speaks to you, be sure and check out Cream for Your Coffee. They also make great stocking stuffers! Just email me at sschlimp@hotmail.com
