You’re just doing your laundry, going about your day’s business. It’s another day. Maybe you’re praying (probably, in fact), but maybe you’re just planning the details of the day. Perhaps it’s hot and muggy, middle of summer, and sweat is creeping into the crevices of your body as you do the laundry. Not quite time for the next meal, and no time for a snack (what’s a snack?), so there’s a dull growl in your stomach as you get into the rhythm of things.
And then…
Everything changes.
You’re asked to be the recipient of one of the greatest miracles of all time. How can you say no? And yet, your “yes” will be the cause for reflection for millennia to come. You’re told you will bear a son who will be the Messiah. How can you continue with laundry after news like this? And yet, your very ability to raise this Messiah, to deal with the extraordinary events of his life, will be the fodder for millions in times to come.
Throughout the rest of your life, you’ll be faced with interruptions because of your son. Although you’ll only have the one son, you’ll have countless children. Although you’ll stand at the foot of the cross, you’ll also stand at the mouth of the empty tomb and at the feet of your ascending son. Your sacrifice, your yes, will be an investment in humanity.
Makes the interruptions that get under my skin look like nothing much to worry about…
Yes, and making any suffering I face as mother to a child with a who-knows-what growing in his jaw pretty minimal too. It is comforting to have Mary as a true solace – someone who has been there and done that.
Don’t minimize your suffering, Michelle, and don’t forget about the benefits of suffering! (Easy for me to say, I know.) Let Mary guide you, right to her son…