Mary, Mother of Jesus

Hello, and welcome to the other ladies week post! Saturday I wrote about Queen Esther with the promise that today's post would be about Mary. I hate to break promises, so here you go. Again, I'm writing about a bible character that is in a human video, but I'm playing her. Yay! My first real role in a human video!

Mary's story sort of starts in the old testament. God has promised a Savior to his people and as I said in the last post they seem to need a lot of saving. Well, He says that the savior, or Messiah, will be a descendant of King David and also be born of a virgin. Now Mary, a young girl (it is speculated that she was 12-14), met all the requirements to give birth to Him. And it says that God favored her. So it was settled. All that was to be done was to tell her. An angel was to appear to her one day, and tell her all about this plan. She was freaked out, I mean, this was an angel. That would be crazy, just to have someone who perhaps sees God on a daily basis in your house. He told her to not be afraid, and he said that she would give birth and to call her Son Jesus. They talk a bit more, and then Mary says this: "'I am the Lord’s servant,' Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled.'" (Luke 1:38a NIV) Is it just me, or does she sound really weary? This is a huge responsibility, and death during childbirth was a lot more common then.

As you probably know, she did survive, and the Messiah came into the world. But soon after his birth, they had to flee to Egypt to get away from King Herod, who didn't like the idea of the Jews having a new King. When the danger was over, they came back. Jesus grows up, right now He's about twelve, and Mary is looking all over, trying to find him. She can't find Him and starts to panic. Where could He be? Well after three days, they finally find Him, in the temple. He's teaching the teachers, and obviously knows more about God. How many twelve-year-olds do you know have that kind of spiritual maturity?

Mary was one of the strongest women in the bible. She was a young mother and wife. But perhaps the most amazing thing, is that she watched her Son die. I don't quite know how this would feel, but a child dying before it's parents is one of the worst things to live through. It just seems wrong in every way possible. Yes, having a parent die is never easy, but there are few things that all cultures seem to agree on, and one of those things is that a mother's love is ridiculously strong. (If you have read Harry Potter, you would know.) To see your Son taken away from you would be more than heartbreaking.

Mary is probably the most well known woman in the bible, and a very influential figure especially in Catholicism. She gave birth to our Savior, and is an incredible role-model. She is proof that it's not easy, but good things come out of trusting God. Mary truly made a difference.

Sarah