Life With Love Himself

mary, mary.

A laugh escaped my lips. And then another. I let it bubble up inside me like a fountain, quenching a thirst I hadn't known was there.

The wind was but a gentle breeze, like a kiss on the forehead. A cloud shielded the sun from my eyes, and a flower bloomed beside where my foot was placed. In the middle of winter, a flower bloomed.

These facts only increased my joy; if joy was the word to describe it. Could you truly call something joy when it walked hand-in-hand with pain?

Everywhere I went, nature knew. The wind in the trees played a duet with the birds, the sea calmed... Everything filled to the brim with a peaceful, passionate happiness.

Human beings, on the other hand, were a mixed bag. Some came to me in reverent tones, speaking of glory. Most, however, far from believed me. From whispered insults to outright confrontations, the words began to hurt worse than the ache in my back.

When baggy dresses no longer hid my pregnancy, all the rumors seemed to be confirmed. They knew my story, my joyous explanation - but they also knew that Joseph and I were but newlyweds.

And yet, while people spat in my face and cursed me for my 'sin', the God of the universe did the opposite in every way.

Daily, nature cried out its praise to the child in my belly, and every day another scripture would find new meaning to me - pointing to this event in time.

Every time I thought of my Lord, my heart filled with delight. He had chosen me.

A flock of birds flew overhead, sending out a cacophony of calls. I smiled.

He is still choosing me.

::

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said,

I'm bursting with God-news;
I'm dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I'm the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It's exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.