Baptists are sometimes afraid to talk too much about Mary. We might sound too "Catholic". While it is true that Mary was just a human being like you and me, she also was indeed a very special person. God would not have chosen her for her very important role if she did not have a heart for God. After all, not just anyone is qualified to be the mother of God’s Son!

This amazing woman had, for the past 9 nine months, been living in a dream world. Or maybe even at times it seemed like a nightmare world. After all, one day she was a simple Palestinian young girl looking forward to an ordinary future. She was engaged to a man who would not make her wealthy but who was trained in an important skill as a carpenter. The next day she found out, even though she is a virgin, that she was going to have a baby.

If that news was not startling enough, consider that she got the news from an angel! And her husband-to-be found out about it the same way! That will rock your world!

Since the angel brought her the news, she had spent some time with her older relative Elizabeth (who was also miraculously pregnant). I’m sure those two expectant first time mothers did what all expectant mothers do: they looked forward to wonderful years ahead with their God-promised children. They may have even planned their nursery! Seems like all first time mothers do…

But things did not go as expected. Being the mother of God’s son did not save Mary from experiencing the harsh reality that life does not always go as we plan. She had to make an arduous journey to Bethlehem at the very end of her pregnancy. And of course we all know Jesus was born there in Bethlehem, far away from the comfort of their home, in a stable of all places!

Still, Mary had some high points. After all, she heard from shepherds about angels appearing to them, and of great rejoicing in heaven over the birth of her child. It had to be an exciting day and evening for her, despite the awkward surroundings.

Today is December 26, the day after the traditional date of Jesus’ birth. We find ourselves in the middle of "the morning after". For you see, it was the same for Mary. The shepherds were gone. No one was around but Joseph. And the baby needed changing. He needed to be fed. The day after the angels appeared, there was silence. Life returned to normal. Mary began living again where most of us live the bulk of our lives: in the "in between".

For the Christian, life is a series of peaks and valleys, with plains in between. God reveals Himself in marvelous and pointed ways, then retreats in silence. Why does God do this? Primarily, it seems, to build faith, perseverance, and character in His children. It is all part of our "growing up". But sometimes those silent periods can be long, stressful, and empty. On the day after Jesus was born, Mary found herself "in between".

Of course, we can read the story and know that, at least for now, her "in between" times would be short. In seven days the baby would be presented at the Temple, and she would receive a special blessing from two of God’s senior saints. And in the not too distant future wise men would come bringing gifts. But Mary could not see her future any more than you can or I can. For all she knew, the excitement was over.

That is why her response, as recorded by Luke, is so very important. Because Mary, intentionally or not, had discovered the secret of dealing with the "in between" time. How? According to verse 19 Mary "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart". The same phrase occurs in verse 51, when, at age 12, Jesus confounded the scholars in the Temple. She made mental notes and kept the stories vivid in her life. She was so aware of God’s faithfulness that 30 years after Jesus’ birth, Mary was present and involved in her son’s first miracle in Cana.

What Mary did was no different than Old Testament saints, who built altars and stone monuments to remind themselves of God’s great interventions in their lives. She was used to celebrating holidays and festivals centered around remembering God’s miraculous works in the Exodus and other points in her people’s history. Mary simply remembered and stored away the evidences of God’s goodness in her life. And aren’t WE glad she did, for otherwise we would have no record of the Christmas story!

What about the high points of your life? I doubt that an angel has spoken to you recently, or that you experienced a virgin birth. Shepherds have most likely not been beating a path to your door. But if you are a believer, and you walk with God, you too have had high points in your life, times when God’s presence and His plan were unmistakable.

Maybe it was the day you were saved, perhaps answered prayers. It may be His sustaining presence through very difficult times. Maybe it was a miraculous event, a healing of a sickness or a relationship. High points! Times to be treasured and pondered.

Why treasure these times? First, because they remind you that God is faithful. He came through in the past, and He’ll do it again. Second, because they remind you of God’s presence in your life. And third, they remind you that God has a plan.

Mary needed these reassurances in her life. Remember, her life had been turned upside down. She became pregnant through o choice of her own. She faced the very real possibility of exclusion for having a child out of wedlock. Then God decided for her to have that baby in a stall, in a town far away from home! Things had not gone the way she planned, that’s for sure. No one envisions THAT scenario!

Then what? They have to run for their lives from Herod! Where was God in all of this?

But Mary treasured those memories, and pondered them in her heart. So should you. When doubts arise, when circumstances look bleak, when God seems silent, when plans go awry, when questions go unanswered, when life seems out of control, you have those memories cataloged. They are assurances that God and His Word are true, because He has proven Himself in His own unique way in a way planned just for YOU! They are your personal treasures which No One can take away.

Mary always knew that God had a plan, that God had a unique way of making His presence known, and that God was faithful. His Word promised it, and her experiences in the "high times" confirmed it.

Christmas yesterday may have been one of those high times in your life, just like it was for Mary. If so, TREASURE IT! You’ll draw on that store in the days after Christmas.

Christmas yesterday may have been a very hard time for you. If so, DRAW FROM YOUR PREVIOUS TREASURES! High times will come again. In fact, your trials may themselves become a high time that you have not yet recognized.

Because God is faithful in ALL times! Merry day after Christmas!

Bob Berry

December 26, 1999