I have always loved Amy Grant’s Christmas song, “Breath of Heaven”. I heard it on the radio this morning on the way to work. It always brings me close to tears when I hear Mary’s heart as she recognizes the incredible gift that has been placed within her – Jesus! In the past I always thought about it from the standpoint of an expectant mommy and her being overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all. But today it hit me differently. Today I realized that just as Mary was chosen to carry the Son of God, we have been given that same amazing privilege. As believers, we carry Jesus within us every day. Is that incredible or what????? Like Mary, we are called to bring our Savior to this lost world. To invite the shepherds, the wise men and everyone in between to come and adore our Jesus. Do we really understand what God has entrusted us with? Too wonderful to fully conceive (no pun intended), too overwhelming to really comprehend.
No wonder Mary prayed…”Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For He took notice of His lowly servant girl…and He has done great things for me.” (Luke 2:46-49, NLT) Amen, Mary. Amen.
Girlfriend, I am so glad God directed you to do a blog! Your words bless me more than I can say. Praying for you and yours.
Wow! Thanks, Jaron. I just feel like in the middle of struggle, God has been revealing so much of Himself to me lately. I just can’t keep it in cuz it gets me so excited!!!! God is good. Would love to catch up soon! And I still want to see the stuff you’re writing….:-)
I love that song! Today I went to read the lyrics again, and the second verse struck me:
I am waiting in silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear.
In a world as cold as stone
Must I walk this path alone?
I think many of us feel like the load we bear is frightening, and we all too easily forget that we do NOT have to walk this path alone! We become so self-focused that remembering our source of strength sometimes becomes difficult.
Maybe, instead of thinking of my load, I should work harder to remember that God chose me for this, not because of my strength but because of my faith. I know that in the last 3 days I have spent more time in prayer–mostly for Brent–than I probably have in the last month. And if that’s what it takes, well, then…so be it. I will praise God for my son, even when things are not pretty. And I will continue to trust that God will use this time at boot camp to break him down and take his heart fully captive. In a world that can feel cold as stone, I will remember that I am not walking alone!
Thanks for the reminder!!
So awesome, Jen. We, like Mary, have the Son of God living within us. I just can’t get over that. It makes everything else seem less scary 🙂 I love you and am praying for Brent right this minute. God is gonna do something amazing. Can’t wait to hear the”yet to be told” story!