Pondering Like Mary

Reflections on Fear, Faith, and Following God’s Call

By Lisa Elliott

My backyard swing is perhaps my favorite spot. It was given to me as a Mother’s Day gift twenty years ago and has moved with me to four houses. It’s where my husband and I, weather permitting, begin every day with a cup of coffee and our Bibles. It’s where Jesus and I meet the most. It’s where He and I have ministered to the weary, the broken, and the wounded.

It’s also in this spot that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and I have frequently connected as I’ve taken time to process, pray, and “ponder things of God and treasure them in my heart” (Luke 2:19, 51).

Mary and I connect on so many levels:

• Like Mary, both of us had a personal encounter with the Lord as teenage girls.

• We both know what it is to have our souls pierced (Luke 2:35).

• We both know what it is to watch a son suffer and die.

• We both know what it is to turn our mess into a message of hope that will “ripple” and reach generations to come (Luke 1:46-50).

Like in Mary’s life, time and time again, the Lord has shown up in unexpected ways, stepping into my ordinary life on an ordinary day and extending extraordinary invitations that have led me to unforeseen circumstances.

The Lord has asked both of us to do the impossible made possible only by Him; the One who works best in impossible situations. It’s been in the context of these impossible situations that Mary’s example has helped me identify and overcome two significant fears that I’m sure we can all relate to!