I'm No Mary

Now, I am well aware of the fact that I am no Mary.  Mary was the mother of Jesus.  The one and only  woman ever to walk this earth that God entrusted with his son.  This was a woman who was "highly favored" by God, and certainly someone worth emulating.  No matter how impossible it might be.

This morning I once again found myself in awe of this woman.  I was reading John 2, when Jesus performs his first miracle by turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana.  And I was struck by the words Mary said to her son.  I'm sure you've heard this passage a dozen times and there are probably just as many interpretations of what took place.  But here is my take on it, for what it's worth. (Remember you get what you pay for!)

Mary had watched her son grow into a man.  She knew that he was indeed the Son of God.  But I think when she looked at him, she still saw that little boy she had been so blessed to raise.  She saw in Jesus things only a mother can see.  And on this night she recognized in her son that his time had come.  It was time for him to become all God had sent him to be and she encouraged him to be exactly that.  She's the one who was the first to bring Jesus into the situation.  She was the one who brought it to his attention, "They have no more wine."  As simple as that.  Like saying, "Here is the problem son, what are you going to do about it?"  Do you think she wanted to whisper in his ear like we all do to our children "I know you can do this, I believe in you!"?  You won't find those words in the scripture but I still wonder if they were there.  And Jesus, not sure if he was ready to start what he knew was going to be the beginning of the end, hesitated.  "My time has not yet come."

But Mary KNEW.  She KNEW her son.  She KNEW what he could do.  She had watched him for 30 years and she KNEW his time had come.  She KNEW.  And she encouraged him.  She didn't let him miss this opportunity she told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." She gave him the nudge we all need to give our kids at some point in their life.  And she did it at the perfect time.  She knew what God desired her son to be, she encouraged him to be exactly that, and when needed, she gave him a gentle push in that direction.

That's the kind of mother I want to be.  I want to see in my children exactly what it is God wants them to be, I want to encourage them to be exactly that, and when necessary I want to give them a gentle push in that direction.

I'm no Mary.  But I sure would like to be a mother like her!

check out John 2:1-11