Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
By Carolyn Hulliberger
“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.”
Luke 1:38
A child’s development challenge. The collapse of a marriage. Financial devastation. The loss of a loved one. A son or daughter’s addiction. Life-changing diagnosis. Self-loathing over choices in the past.By Carolyn Hulliberger
“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.”
Luke 1:38
Many of us have faced life-shattering moments. I think of these as “It” moments. They are moments that forever define our history and alter the course of our lives. The before “It” is marked by comfort and familiarity. The after “It” is marked by brokenness and change. There is no going back to the moment before “It” – as much as we may yearn for that time.
Perhaps no other woman in the Bible displays how to move forward from life’s “It” moments better than Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary experienced situations many cannot fathom: an unplanned pregnancy, a flight into Egypt to prevent harm to her child, her gut-wrenching grief at the crucifixion and her participation in the earliest community of believers.
Mary’s actions are contrary to how many would react. When she did not understand God’s plan, she chose trust. When forced to leave her homeland and live as a foreigner, she apparently chose perseverance. When crushed by grief and despair at her son’s circumstances, she chose to stand by the cross. Others have surrendered their faith over much less strenuous circumstances.
In the book, A New Kind of Normal, author Carol Kent quotes Ken Gire: “When suffering shatters the carefully kept vase that is our lives, God stoops to pick up the pieces. But he doesn’t put them back together as a restoration project patterned after our former selves. Instead, he sifts through the rubble and selects some of the shards as raw material for another project…a mosaic that tells the story of redemption.”(1) What a beautiful picture of our broken selves being used and filled in with the mortar of God.
For each of us, a past, current or future “life-shattering moment” leads to a point of personal choice. Will we choose trust…. perseverance… faithfulness? Contrary to what seems the only option, Mary’s example stands out: “Oh God, may it be to me as you have said.” Allow God to take the brokenness and use it to tell a contrary story, a story of redemption.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Does the “vase of your life” seem cracked or shattered? Seek support in allowing God to use the pieces for His mosaic.
2. Think back to your personal “It” moments. Have you come to a place where God can use you to help others in their brokenness?
FURTHER READING:
Romans 5:3-5; Luke 2:41-51; Acts 1:12-14
(1) © 2007 Carol Kent
Along with caring for her husband, two children and the dog, Carolyn is an Office Representative for State Farm Insurance, serves as a small group leader for Wednesday p.m. Bible study, and is the treasurer for Women’s Ministries.
