Pondering

Good Morning! 

What a beautiful day God gave us here in Northeast Georgia for Christmas Day!!!  Oscar and I headed to Woodstock to visit with Grandma Leta (Mother).  Mom seems to be doing much better than she was in June/July.  She had stopped writing letters (her favorite pastime) and had convinced herself that she couldn’t formulate thoughts well.  She showed me the Christmas cards she had received … and I noted that on each one she had responded with a note of thanks.  I also noted that her handwriting was back to its usual form … another sign of progress.  While there are still some signs of aging that I see, it is good to hear a more positive note in her voice.  Thank You, dear Father, for my Mom and Your blessings to her.

Speaking of Moms, let’s take a look at Mary this Morning after Christmas:

Luke 2:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

I admit that I do not know what it is like to give birth to a child.  My experience has been limited to the Waiting Room of the hospitals … Miss Norma didn’t want me in the Delivery Room … and I wasn’t too keen on being there either. But I am very aware of how much giving birth to our children meant to Norma. I could see on her face the love she immediately had for our munchkins.  And I can attest that her love never wavered for the balance of her life.  She was a great Mom. 

Every once in a while, I stumble across a bunch of memorabilia that Norma put aside from our children’s childhood.  Now, you have to understand that I am the pack rat … Norma was always the “clean it out, throw it away” type.  But not her children’s stuff.  I find scribbly pictures and writings and other mementoes that meant a lot to Miss Norma – reminding me of her focus in life.  She loved each child and wanted to hang on to their accomplishments.

So, when I read Luke 2:19, I picture a woman much like Miss Norma … a woman who has endured the pain of childbirth and found true love.  I glean from God’s Word the picture of a woman who observes every minute detail of her young son’s life and stores them away … later to pull them out as she remembered Him.  I believe Mary sat with Luke and told him the story we read in Luke 1 and 2.  Who better to tell it than Mary?  She was witness to all of it.

Today is the day after Christmas.  The stores will be hopping as people rush to exchange their gifts or return one that may have a flaw.  And, yes, there will be bargains as the stores attempt to move merchandise rather than store it away.  Lost in this will be the message that we only briefly focused upon … Christ the Savior has come.  Why don’t we do like Mary … and ponder these things in our hearts.

Agape’

Mr. Jim

  

Prayer: Father God, keep the birth of Christ in my heart and mind throughout the year. Teach me to love Him as He loves me.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for today: Luke 2:19