4th Week of Advent: PONDER

PONDER – think about (something) carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion

Today we heard a familiar story from the Bible: Gabriel visits Mary. Here we have a teenager who is engaged to be married, who is going about her daily routine when God springs onto the scene to ask her to be the mother of the Messiah. If you were in her shoes, what would you have said?

I’m not sure how I would’ve responded either. But, Mary’s faith is so great that she said, “Yes!” I don’t know if she was prepared but that didn’t stop her from taking on the greatest role in history: Mother of God.

Mary is awesome. She is the first disciple of Christ. She is our role model because just like her, God has a plan for each of us.

We’re going fast forward for a minute to the birth of Christ. In Luke’s gospel, the shepherds come to visit, think about how Mary and Joseph must feel- they traveled to Bethlehem, they just had a baby, shepherds surround them, and we don’t know Joseph’s reaction, but Luke tells us that Mary “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

This brings me to this week’s theme: PONDER. The fourth week of Advent is a short 24 hours, but take a moment to ponder the miracle that we are about to experience.

Take a moment to ponder all you’ve been given.

Ponder what this Christmas will mean to you.

Take a moment to ponder what God is asking of you.

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