Pondering
By Peggy Kleckner
“....and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
Luke 2:18-20 (NIV, emphasis added)
Motherhood...what a job! It brings to mind babies, cooking, dishes, carpooling, homework wars, constant motion and little rest. But here at the beginning of Mary’s motherhood role, we find her treasuring and pondering. Not just that, but she was doing it “in her heart,” that deep-seated place of our true self.
I love the two concepts God chose here: “treasured” and “pondered.” Just sit with those words for a moment. What happens when we “treasure” something? What happens when we “ponder” something? I may see my child every day, but if I stop to “treasure” him, what changes? What happens when I linger to “ponder” on his growth and change, or my own?
Concerning each of her children, how much time do you think your own mother spent in doing these two things, treasuring and pondering their life-circumstances from the time of conception to the present? If you are a mom, how often have you found yourself treasuring or pondering specific moments and happenings?
Life seems fast-paced, hectic, ongoing. We rush. We fuss. We do. How much do we “treasure” and “ponder”? How much time do we spend in the secret recesses of our hearts? What moments, what “things,” do we take there to ponder on?
Since God chose to mention this in Scripture, might He be confirming this practice? Shouldn’t there be time set aside in the rush to step aside in wonder at life? Shouldn’t we ponder the workings of His mighty hand in our lives, and in the lives of our children?
Stop the motion today, if only for a moment, to practice the art of treasuring and pondering...
GOING DEEPER:
1. Consider where in your week you might make the time to “stop” and engage in some treasuring and pondering of your own.
2. If you’re able, how about asking your own mom what she has treasured and pondered about your life, as well as her own?
FURTHER READING:
Peggy is a wife and mother of four adult children - - two sons and two stepsons, and is an active encourager at Oakwood Church in Delafield.
