Luke 2:19
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Even as I write this, my neighbors are packing up Christmas and shoving it into a corner of their attic. Granted, Christmas has officially been over less than 10 hours, but God forbid we’d keep the lights up any longer than necessary. After all, we have been listening to Christmas music in stores since August, haven’t we? Isn’t it funny what a rush we’re in to bypass Thanksgiving so that we can get to Christmas, and yet we can’t pack it all away fast enough when it’s over? I mean, non-Christian radio stations played Christmas music longer after Christmas than one of the Christian stations I listen to from time to time!
Of course, I get that we can’t leave Christmas up all year (although I do know someone who pushed their artificial tree in the corner and covers it with a sheet for quick access the next year!), but I think we can probably learn something from Mary. You remember her, right? She was the wonderfully willing and obedient 13-15 year old girl that was the first to have to pack away Christmas. Jesus was born, the star had faded away, the family get-together was over, and she was left with that “it’s all over” feeling that many of us have at this time of year. Our verse even says that she, too, kind of packed it all up and stored it away. But there is one key difference between the young mother of Jesus and most of us today…
She didn’t forget. That word “pondered” is an interesting one. It literally means to converse with oneself, often in a heated, debating way. So, here is a young lady packing all the things she experienced in that first Christmas up and then talking through with herself what she had just witnessed. The long journey, the shepherd’s visit and excited story about a night sky lit up with a glowing choir, the faithfulness of Joseph’s love in the face of overwhelming confusion. And of course, the baby. That beautiful baby Savior who, even at His earliest breath in a manger, wasn’t afraid of the mess that so often surrounds us in this life. I can see her, can’t you? Holding Him in her arms, lips moving without sound as she recalls the moments. Sometimes laughing, sometimes wiping a tear from her eyes.
Pondering is like that. Sometimes we like what we remember, and sometimes we don’t. I’m sure that your life in 2009 was much like what Mary experienced (well, maybe without the mega-watt choir!). There were great moments, hard moments, times when your eyes danced in laughter and others when they bowed in pain. Our job now, as we pack it all up and put in back in it’s place, is to remember, reflect, relive the faithfulness that God showed when no one else did.
Treasure what you saw, ponder it as you pack it away, and be amazed at Who He is…again, and again, and again.
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