Mary Treasured and Pondered the JOY of Jesus

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  When you look at Christmas through the eyes of joy, you see new meaning.

            The Christmas season has once again come quickly! And….we have some choices to make.  Will we rush through the entire month of December, checking things off our “to do list” and end up being so tired at the end of the month that we’re glad it’s over?  OR will we choose to slow down a tad and look at this season as a time to focus on the genuine joy of Christmas?

            Let’s ponder how the people of the first Christmas may have seen the joy of that blessed event. As a mother, my thoughts go to Mary and how her emotions must have run the gamut:    

·         Humility and wonder…that she had been chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus.

·         Awe…in the truth that her Son would be the Savoir of the world. 

·         Anticipation…in being a first time mother.

·         Apprehension…that she had to leave her family and travel via donkey in her 9^th month of pregnancy….. from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  She would give birth without anyone she knew…except Joseph.

·         And speaking of Joseph…don’t you imagine Mary was both excited and nervous about this relationship?

All of those emotions plus more….But Mary trusted God and, as Luke 2:19 tells us, she “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

             As we look through the eyes of Mary, we can see a deep inexpressible joy. Let’s focus on that kind of joy this Christmas.