Have you ever noticed that what you feed is what grows and develops? Here, Mary has just given birth to her baby, Jesus. The circumstances which surrounded this happy event were really special. There were several angelic manifestations, first towards Elisabeth the cousin of Marie, then for Marie herself, then Joseph and finally the shepherds in the countryside… But there is also the fact of finding herself pregnant before being married and having to bear the gaze of others, the fatigue of the journey between Galilee and Nazareth as well as of giving birth and being rejected – for lack of space in the hotel, she had to give birth in a stable. Mary had a choice as to what she would hold in her heart and nurture.
It is the same for each and every one of us, we have to face different events in our lives, both good and bad. The question is to know what are we going to keep and iron in our hearts. By our human nature, our tendency is to focus on what is negative, because these are things that have come to mark our hearts with offense or hurt. We have to be intentional about what we grow.
Mary made the choice to keep in her heart the manifestation and the words of God transmitted by the shepherds. These things shaped her heart and allowed her to lift up Jesus from the perspective of what she had heard. Proverbs 4:23 urges us to guard our heart more than anything else, for from it come the springs of life. Our lives are a reflection of what we keep and nurture. Keeping offenses and hurts will lead us to become a harsh, cynical and wicked person… On the contrary, keeping what God says and does allows us to live a life that is in His measure and to know how to meet all the challenges. It's up to us to choose!
It's not just about keeping what God says and has done in our hearts. We also need to know how to cultivate it. He said Mary was going over these things in her heart. Which means, remembering them on a regular basis. By doing so, we will nourish our faith and our prayer life. It will also help us in our decision-making and support us in our trials, because we know what God says and wants.
It's up to you to position yourself, what do you keep in your heart, what do you feed? Take the time to stop and think about these questions, because your answer will determine what you will be tomorrow. Also take the time to open your heart to allow God to speak to you and remind you of His promises, write them down, meditate on them regularly and align your faith with them, for what God has said, He will do. !
God has blessed you richly so that you bless abundantly ...
Luke