Wednesday's Word

She Said “Yes!”

Luke 1:36: Then Mary said, ‘Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

Welcome to Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power and Trench Classes United! Grab your coffee or whatever you’re having for our time together, and don’t forget your strand of faith because I’m certain there will b a knot or two to tie! Oh, and I should warn you, this blog is not about a proposal…per say, or maybe it is!

Mother’s Day has come and gone but a scripture our pastor walked us to and through on Mother’s Day got me to thinking -- Uh-oh! – and inspired this blog.

Have you ever asked yourself, “Am I where I am supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to be doing?” Or, “Am I on the wrong track?”

I have to admit, even though I’m in ministry, I do ask myself those questions, and too many times to count! Yes, it’s because I am in ministry that I know I don’t have it all together and constantly have to stay plugged into the source. If I pull away even the tiniest bit, I can tend to feel so disconnected.

Oh, how I love His ways that are definitely beyond my own comprehension at times, but His answers…well, they are always comprehensible for He speaks to us in the way we need to hear, if we will only listen. Let me tell you, He got my attention on Mother’s Day and to give this truth even more value, I must share with you that I was ready to throw in the towel…on all sorts of things, including ministry!  I was definitely headed on the wrong road, yearning the simple life of just working as a court reporter, making money and spending money…But then God used my pastor to speak into my soul.

Allow me to give you a little background about Mary, in my humble opinion, the greatest and bravest mother that ever lived: She was young, poor, and definitely from the wrong side of town -- just a few of the characteristics that culture tried to use to define her as someone certainly not worthy to carry the Savior in her womb. I am not exactly sure how she met Joseph, or how long they were “going out” or “dating,” as our culture calls it, before they became engaged, but nevertheless at 15, she found herself engaged to a very honorable man, someone who loved her just the way she was. Isn’t that what we all want?

And now there appears an angel of the Lord telling her she will, through the Holy Spirit, conceive a child who will be the Son of God! See, the problem is she wasn’t married, hadn’t “known” Joseph in that way, and to say yes would be the biggest risk she would ever take. Sure, maybe nowadays getting pregnant before marriage seems to be the way it happens for a lot of couples, but back then, it wasn’t. And besides, she didn’t get pregnant by her fiancé!  It is a hard thing for us to wrap our minds around this “immaculate conception,” so let’s move to the life-applicable truths for you and me!

First, do you realize the impact of her saying “yes”? How she said yes in that moment impacted not only all her tomorrows, but ours as well! This is where we we’re going to sit for a minute.

What we say “yes” to really does have an impact on our tomorrows and yet, there are times when I just want to throw my hands up and say not only no, but heck no! I get tired, frustrated, discouraged; I wonder why I always have to be the bigger person, the one to change, the one to keep my mouth shut, the one to show up and shut up! Are you feeling what I’m saying? That’s exactly where I was at when I was walked to and through the story of Mary saying yes.

Saying yes when we want to say no is tantamount to jumping off a mountain…and waiting for Him to catch us. And He will! It’s the when that can often send us diving instead of soaring, striving instead of thriving.

See, when it comes to things that matter, things of eternal value, there is no neutrality. There are many moments in our life that we must “seize the moment,” make a decision to say yes, jump…. and then wait for Him to catch us!

So if Jesus were to ask you to do something that is completely outside of your comfort zone, something that society wouldn’t agree with or to, something that stretched you beyond your imagination, what would your answer be?

Counting my stock in Spandex…. and continuing to say yes!

Evinda

PS. I’d like to say happy birthday to a very special young lady in my life, my step-daughter Breanne! Tiny one, I pray that the memories you create celebrating you will squeeze your heart with love and laughter to last you a lifetime!