“And Mary treasured up all of these things, pondering them in her heart.” Luke 2:19I love the word “ponder.” One of its definitions is “to wonder about.” While I prefer to think that Mary sat in a non-anxious presence and just thought about the chaotic events going on around her, it is probably more likely that she truly “wondered” about them. I can’t imagine all the ways her life changed after that little visit from Gabriel and the encounter with the Holy Spirit. Her words, “How can this be?” must have echoed a doubt laced with rationality, faith mixed with fear.
I take great comfort in pondering. I love to think, brood, analyze. Or, as my dad would have put it, “stew” over things. But at Christmas, I also “wonder.” The story seems so unusual, so fanciful, so unlikely! The world around me is so chaotic that it is hard to believe that a tiny child in a manger could actually bring peace.
But Mary was there. And the things that she saw and experienced confirmed for her that a big God was in control of the whole story. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name,” Mary said to her cousin Elizabeth. And then she sang of the powerful, wondrous things God has done and will do because He is the author of the story. (Luke 1:46-55)
It’s all worth treasuring and pondering.
(Photo by Jun Acullador, shared via Flickr)
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