I love great deals! They can be a lot of work, but are so much fun! I am usually a Kroger and Aldi girl, but this week I am visiting Jewel, and might be there to stay. They have a deal this week where if you spend $100 on gift cards, you get $20 off your next grocery purchase. Yesterday I went in and bought a $100 gift card to Sears, because we are planing on buying a freezer for all my sale items I find and want to freeze. Oh, and of course we'll also use it to stock up on ice cream because we could eat that just about every day.
Anyway, today I went in and, after a few coupons, spent $22.76 on groceries...but gave them my $20 coupon, and got all of the above for $2.76. That makes me smile big! And of course I bought another $100 Sears gift card, so I can go back and spend another free $20 tomorrow.
Oh Mary, I identify with you more this year!
Pastor Dave has been doing a series on women of the old testament, that were in the genealogy pointing to Jesus. This week ended the ten week series, with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Dave used this piece of art to portray her life.
Just look at it! It says so many things! Her eyes. She is expecting much that is to come. She doesn't know the details, but she knows there will be some rough roads ahead.
Jesus' precious little baby hair really struck me. It just shows what a baby he was, a mother's little baby. He's so tiny, it's crazy to equate this picture with the savior of the world. Yet that's how God chose to save us.
One of my favorite Christmas songs is, Mary Did You Know?, and there is a line that says, "when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God." Wow. Can you imagine?!? I can't get over this picture. How he is leaning on her. How you know she kissed his face all the time. I probably don't even notice how often I kiss D's face, because it is so natural. Can you imagine kissing your baby, who is not just your child, but JESUS? Mary must have had so many emotions. What would it be like to be his mom? Pastor Dave walked us through some of it. When he was 12 years old she thought she lost him for a whole day, but he was just learning from priests, asking them questions. How scared did she feel? She had influence over his first miracle, as she asked him to do something about a problem, and then told men, "do what he tells you to do." She watched him go from carpenter handy man to preacher and teacher. He was so often followed by crowds of people, to the point he sometimes didn't have time to eat a meal. Her protective mother side may have thought, "you need to eat!" and she also may have thought, "just relax and tell these people you need some time to yourself!" They had regular mother-son disagreements. They were real. Can you imagine her watching him die on that cross? Many of his friends did not stay, but she was right there. Close enough to hear his voice. I can't imagine.
Being a mom (maybe not a real mom, but a foster mom, and I have to think my love is the same!) makes me identify with her more. For as long as I can remember, I knew Jesus came to the world as a baby, was laid in a manger, grew up to be a man...but until this year I couldn't understand the precious sacredness of it. What a bond. She was his momma. And he was an innocent baby, a boy that grew up and really worked at learning about his Heavenly father. He studied. He knew scripture. He thrived on it.
I want that for baby D. I want him to grow up loving Jesus. I want him to crave the Bible and its truth. I want him to be safe. I don't want him to feel pain. I want him to be a strong man of integrity.
And selfishly, I want to be his mom.
I should say what Mary said. "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." That's hard. I don't know what God has said about our situation. But I know he's in control. One thing is for sure. My anguish cannot be compared to what Mary must have felt!
