1783 Wishing you a ‘Mary’ Christmas

BIG Life Devotional | Daily Devotional for Women

Luke 2: 6-20:
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

1“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Notice what Mary did … “But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

Scripture often uses the word heart to represent the center of our thoughts and emotions. As she saw her miraculous new born baby laying wrapped in a manger (after being unable to find a single hotel room or guest house available), kneeling next to Joseph (he man who had every reason to leave her yet he stayed and believed) and now these shepherds who have come revealing what the angel had said about her baby, she kept it in her heart. She’s sitting in the moment, noticing everything, recognizing this is a profound spiritual experience.

She’s seeing how God had worked through everyone and everything to make this happen. She’s noticing the details and their divine alignment.

And this is who we are called to be this Christmas. We’re called to be the daughter, the wife, the mother, the sister, the aunt, the grandma, the friend, the neighbor, the girl who will be fully there and actually NOTICE. Notice the details and their divine alignment. Notice how God worked through everyone and everything to make this happen. Notice it. Sit in your moments and recognize the miracles in those moments. This does not require the presence or participation of another living soul … just you. Intentionally noticing. Noticing the beauty. Noticing the moment. Noticing the miraculous.

These days hold the potential for precious memories, but you miss those precious memories if you rush through them and focus on trying to make things perfect. Stop. Just be here. Be fully here. Notice.

It’s okay if the house gets messy. It’s okay if the kids get wild. It’s okay if everyone is still in their pajamas. It’s okay if dinner is served late. It’s okay if you eat dessert first. It’s okay. You don’t have to control it or fix it, just notice all the good there is to notice.

Notice the sounds. Notice the smells. Notice the flavor. Notice the sights. Notice the moments.

My sister, you’ve been missing entirely too many of your moments. Moments that held the potential for precious memories. Moments that were nothing short of miraculous. Don’t miss these!

Mary kept these things in her heart and thought about them often. It’s time to store up some beautiful things in your heart so you can think about them often.

Many years ago I read a little book by Andy Andrews called “The Noticer”. Back then I was much more of a rusher, an over-talker, a fixer. I deeply struggled to sit in a moment and just be there. I must confess I was a poser. I cared more about how it looked than how it really felt for everyone else. I would ruin a beautiful moment by fixing the background so the photo would look good. The Noticer helped me to notice the beauty in the moment, as is. It shifted my perspective to see life that was unfolding in front of me, life that would pass I would never get back.

Now, I get totally swept away in the simplest moments. This weekend I made blanket forts with my grandson for nearly an hour. I savored every giggle and captured the moment as a precious memory in my heart. I noticed. I noticed what a miracle it was and all God had done to make it happen. It was my Mary moment. “But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

This morning I sat up in bed to begin talking to God, and I noticed my husband laying next to me. The warmth of his body. The sound of him sleeping so peacefully. I just noticed. There was nothing I needed to change. Nothing I needed to fix. And nothing I needed to rush through. Just notice. A Mary moment.

My prayer for you today and the coming days as you celebrate the birth of our Jesus, is that you have intentional and on purpose Mary moments. That you remember this. That you slow down. That you pause. That you listen. That you feel it fully. That you store up that moment in your heart so you can think about it often.

For a bit of fresh inspiration this morning, I searched for short podcast on being a noticer. Clicking on the first one in my search, to my surprise, the dude starts talking about being a muleman. I had somehow landed myself on a podcast about raising MULES! What’s really crazy is I decided to listen. His mulemanship tip for the day was to be a noticer. To notice what the mule is doing for you and appreciate them.

And that right there is perhaps the best relationship advice ever! If it’s important to notice your mule and appreciate them, don’t you think it’s important to notice your loved ones and appreciate them. Heck, what about your pets. Can you notice and appreciate them today?

Going through this day as a noticer is a total game changer. Remember this, your time on this earth is a gift to be used wisely. Don’t waste your words or your thoughts. Consider even the simplest action you take, for your life matters beyond measure … and it matters forever. You only get one shot at this thing called life … start noticing it as it happens.

Every time you hear or say Merry Christmas, think about a Mary Christmas. Mary, the noticer. Mary, the one who stored up precious and miraculous moments in her heart so she could think about them often. My friends, my your day be filled with Mary Moments, and may you have a Mary Christmas.

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