But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19 

Hello Friend …🌻

Whenever I hear Silent Night playing, I have to wonder if it truly was calm and bright around Mary or is this just an image we wanted to paint in our minds of that most Holy Night? 

I ask this because the very first Christmas was actually quite messy.

God invited Mary, who was about thirteen at the time, to step into the “impossible” and she does it. I could use more of her faith, how about you?

In the natural, there was so much uncertainty surrounding the birth of Christ. In those days, a pregnancy outside of marriage was considered a disgrace to the family of origin.

Joseph himself had to be convinced by the angel to take Mary to be his wife. You have to wonder why there was absolutely no one available to help out or offer them a guest room? Were there no friends or family members in Joseph’s home town?

After the arduous donkey ride, “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” (Luke 2:7 NLT).  

In the midst of all the unsettledness, the Bible records a very tender hearted Mary who treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The phrase treasured up comes from the Greek word synetērei, which suggests careful preservation or guarding of something considered very valuable. The KJV and the NLT translations use the word kept instead of treasured.

Mary treasured up (kept) … she did not merely remember these events but recognized their significance and held them close in high regard.

All these things … refers to the events surrounding Christ’s birth. Mary’s deep reflection encompassed both the miraculous and the mundane. We can see the importance of each of these events in the incredible unfolding of God’s beautiful redemptive plan for humankind.

And pondered them … the original Greek for the word pondered is symballousa and it means to converse, consult, dispute, to consider, to aid, to join, attack. To me, the word pondered gives us permission to wonder and ask questions.

In her heart … signifies the depth and the sincerity of Mary’s reflections. She couldn’t have understood all that had been said and done, but she chose to receive it all by faith and waited and watched till it could be made more clear to her. This shines a light on her intimate relationship with the LORD and the stewarding of her role in His divine plan.

It was enough for Mary to know that her Child was the Son of God and the hope of all of Israel …

I picture Mary smiling as she watched her new born sleep, remembering all that the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26-38) and her cousin Elizabeth had told her (Luke 1:39-45).

As she studied his face and counted his little fingers and toes, perhaps her eyes widened in wonder as she listened to the shepherds describe how the all those beautiful angels lit up the night sky with their announcement about the Christ Child (Luke 1:16-18).

Even more, the wonderment of the Magi showing up at their house several years later to worship Jesus and bring Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matt 2:1-23). Then finding their Son (when he was twelve), sitting among the teachers in His Father’s House after frantically searching for three days at the end of the Passover Festival in Jerusalem. (Luke 2:41-52).

It is here that Luke records for the second time … Mary treasured all these things in her heart (Luke 2:51).

All of this was confirmation for Mary.
This is what she waited and watched for, even many years later …

Mary teaches us something about treasuring and pondering on the God moments in our lives, doesn’t she?

From the very beginning, she and Joseph had resolved to walk out the will of God for their lives no matter the cost.

We know all of their responses carried an unspoken acceptance of the Lord’s good plans for their lives even when they and those around them couldn’t understand.

And as more confirmation came to light, Mary kept and pondered it all in her heart.

How are we doing when it comes to treasuring up and pondering the LORD’s goodness in our lives, especially during this Advent Season?

You and I have resolved to walk out the will of God for our lives, too. But do we anticipate His next move in our story or do we spend our days focused only on our current circumstances? (my hand is raised here)

Perhaps, there truly was a holy calm in Mary’s heart because she knew it was a holy night. What are we personally waiting and watching for?

Psalm 111:2 tells us: “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them” (NIV).

God often surprises us with twists and turns we didn’t see coming. Those obstacles, detours and closed doors? Could they be a divine set up and not a set back? Might they be set in place for our protection and redirection as we prayerfully steward our next steps for His Kingdom?

We have to ponder and reflect on His ways and submit to them in faith …

Prov 4:26 says, “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.”

We can become easily frustrated by the way certain things seem stacked against us in the natural or we can see it as being part of the process in the bigger picture of what God is doing. We can focus on all of God’s promises to us or on everything seeminly going wrong in the natural …

Psalm 107:43 says: “Let the one who is wise heed these things and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord” (NIV).

The name Mary is derived from the Hebrew word Miryam, which means both “beloved” and “bitter.” This sort of reflects the dual nature of her experience as both blessed and burdened by her unique role, doesn’t it?

But we know Mary’s cousin Elizabeth explicitly called her blessed (Luke 1:39-45). And in the Magnificat, Mary’s Song (Luke 1:46-55), we see Mary calling her own self blessed as she magnified and rejoiced in the Lord.

How do we see ourselves today?
Burdened or blessed?

Elizabeth told Mary she was “blessed because she believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her” Luke 1:45. I think the secret to seeing ourselves as blessed is believing God and taking Him at His word, don’t you?

Let’s take time during this Advent Season to reflect on God’s goodness in our lives even if things seem messy right now. I used to think I needed to step out of the chaos to find and feel God’s peace and calm in my heart. But God reminds me … His Son is Emmanuel, which means God with us.

The chaos doesn’t have to subside and the people around us don’t need to understand for us to have the perfect Christmas. Because nothing can alter the truth that the Prince of Peace still reigns today and He is right here with us.

How has God been good to you this year?

Merry Christmas my friend,

Mary Treasured Up all These Things and Pondered Them in Her Heart – Luke 2:19 @ freshgracefortoday.com

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