Lonely Hearts

A conversation I had tonight caused me to think about Mary, oh so blessed and oh so lonely.

It’s hard to imagine what it must have felt like to be the mother of Jesus.  There must have been moments so tender, so precious it was beyond comprehension.  Rocking him to sleep, brushing his cheek, kissing the soft spot on the top of his head and breathing in the very scent of him... the Messiah - sent to set the captive free.  But then there must  have been moments of great sadness and despair, tunnels of loneliness burrowing their way through her young and frightened heart.  I mean think about it, who could she really talk to?  Her girlfriends?  I can almost feel my own eyes rolling just thinking about it.  “So you are never going to be believe what happened to me last night.  I was just minding my own business when all of the sudden this Angel appeared...”.  It seems the only other woman she could share her heart with was her much older relative, Elisabeth.  But after a short stay with her it was back home to a town that used to be full of friendly faces  but was now a town full of whispers, so called friends now speculating and gossiping about what they heard.  A familiar place, once loved, now a dreaded place of rumor mills and pointed fingers.  A trip on foot and donkey near the end of her pregnancy should have been a dreaded ordeal but she probably welcomed the excuse to get out of town away from the gnawing in her stomach that churned every time she was faced with running an errand.  I imagine she let her mind wander along the way, “Maybe tonight, I will finally get a good’s night sleep in a nice comfortable bed.”  Imagine her disappointment as Joseph tried to sell her on the perks of sleeping in a stable.  

Oh her life would have joys unspeakable, but who could she bare her soul too.  Who would listen to her stories of shepherds, choirs of angels and Magi’s from the East.  Who would believer her, who could she trust. Eight days into her motherhood bliss, she takes her precious baby boy to Jerusalem to be consecrated to the Lord. A special day indeed but she is pulled aside and told “this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel... and a sword will pierce your own soul too.  What on earth does this mean, who could she call on to pray with, to help her understand and to listen to her concerns.

I don’t imagine it ever got any easier for Mary.   Can you imagine the pressure of being Jesus’s mom?  I shutter to think about their devotional time!  I mean, how do you parent the Son of God? Who wants to sign up for a playdate with Mary and her perfect kid.   And even when Jesus was in full ministry there must have been a mix of women that though Jesus was a joke and his mother even more pathetic and other’s who had been deeply and profoundly touch by Jesus, who just wanted to know her for the bragging rights “oh yay, me and Mary we go way back...”.  Perhaps one of the loneliest lonely’s is the one when everyone around you knows you but nobody “knows” you.  

So... what did Mary do? How did she handle her loneliness? The Bible says  she “pondered” and “treasured” these things in her heart.     She may have felt like she didn’t have a friend in the world or maybe she felt like she couldn’t have a friend in this world.  But there were times when her heart felt loved and cared for...  and she chose to ponder those times in her heart.  She treasured those precious moments, those gifts of kindness that she received along the way.  She kept them safe in her heart where she could linger over them in times of great loneliness. My sweet friend if you are suffering in a sea of loneliness tonight, I encourage you to ponder those things in our heart, there are those that God has placed in your life along the way to sprinkle treasures into your life; perhaps it’s  a saved text or email, a card or a gift that was given to you pull them out and ponder the comfort that Lord has weaved into those tiny treasures.  There are times when the touch of friend’s hand seems out of reach but remember there is always shelter under His wing.

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

Luke 2:51b But his mother treasured all these things in the heart.

Psalms 91:4  He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness with be your shield and rampart. 

My deepest love... Cija

*** This lovely video is so good, it is worth posting again..