The Change of a Lifetime
Have you ever considered the timing of the miracles in your life? The ones that you know - without a doubt - are bonafide miracles from God. The "eleventh-hour" kind. The "just in the nick of time" kind.
There is nothing about our miracles and the timing that is happenstance. Every detail of our lives is perfectly planned out and orchestrated according to God's timing...
Let's visit with two women in the Bible who have unique miracle stories...both involving a baby--miraculously born--at a very unexpected time in both their lives: Sarah and Elizabeth.
Since day one of marriage, I am sure they both dreamed of holding their own babies in their arms--nursing and protecting the little hoped-for infants. But as the years for both women rolled on by and all their friends' homes were filled with midnight crying infants, the homes of Sarah and Elizabeth remained utterly silent, save for the steady breathing and possible snoring from the other side of the bed. No lamps were lit in the dark to see how to change the wet clothes.
The darkness of the long nights seemed to penetrate and cut away at the hopes and dreams of both. Sarah came up with a way to "help God out" as if He needed any help. That was a mess, as she soon learned. All she needed to do was just be patient. Fortunately, Elizabeth remembered that portion of the history of their people, and she silenced her tears by helping others and being a good, dedicated wife. At some point, both women would have likely given up that hope and dream of becoming a mother.
But then their miracle happened. When all hope had been put away--and the journal pages of the prayers had been silently closed on that chapter of their lives..... God opened their womb, and they conceived.
I can just imagine the shock on their faces when they first felt a kick from the inside of their bodies--that first little kick--brought their dreams back to life! The time for their miracles had come--in God's time. Maybe they even went back to the closet and pulled out those prayer journals to see what else they had discarded as "too late" to be answered....
Mary's miracle was different. Barely finished playing "house," she was getting ready for one of her very own. She was engaged--and while she was still living with her parents, her thoughts were not initially on babies as much as I imagine them on "Joseph" or "Joey," as I'm going to call him. They may have been high school sweethearts, of course, he graduated before her...but his love for her was evident in his patience in waiting. His eyes were dreamy, and she thought of nothing more than being a doting and delightful wife...until the day the angel visited her. That day rocked her world.
Once Gabriel finished his speech, her mind was a whirl of questions, yet she voiced only one: "How can this be," or "How will it happen since I have kept myself pure for Joey"?
After Gabe explained to her the process--she was quite satisfied to accept whatever God had planned. Still incredulous over the news, at least she didn't ask the same thing Zechariah did that caused him to be speechless for months: "How can I know?"
Old Zechariah had some trust issues. He didn't believe...He was from Missouri, the "Show-Me-State" (kidding here--I have deep respect for my Missourian friends.)
For all of these, the miracles they experienced changed their lives.
Two little elderly ladies gave birth to babies, and instead of spending their last years in rockers on the front porch watching young mommies pass by on their way to the water well with little ones in tow, they became part of the water-well line and joined in. This was definitely not what they envisioned motherhood to be. They expected to be mothers while they still had energy and vivid eyesight.
But God had a plan to use all things for His glory. Our weaknesses are strengthened when He becomes the focal point of our daily lives.
Mary's miracle was different. She had her whole life in front of her--she wasn't like Sarah and Elizabeth, riding out the last few years in acceptance of what never happened. She was experiencing something she never prayed for. Mary, unlike Sarah and Elizabeth, had not spent years praying to become a mother. Praying for the chance to be woken up in the middle of the night to nurse a hungry infant, no, Mary was still picking out wallpaper for the home that Joey was preparing.
What do you do when what you've prayed for seems to never arrive?
Maybe you even stopped praying for it because you didn't see it happening in the time that you expected, hoped for, or even, dare I say, "told God" it would work best for you...
I was there. Praying for something that I didn't see happening and even had the audacity to tell God how and when it needed to happen. I'm glad instead of knocking me out cold for my presumptuousness, He patiently held my hand while I walked through all the unknowns of the miracles that happened all along the way. They were unknown only to me. He knew all along (Jeremiah 29:11).
Mary didn't presume to tell God anything...she simply said, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be according to your word."
Wow. What if we accepted everything God told us with that much faith and determination to be obedient no matter what? She didn't tell Gabe to go tell God anything--just, "I am HIS servant."
A servant follows directions without questions. A servant never assumes his or her ideas are better than the one who is giving out duties for the day. Sure, they may have thought of a faster way to accomplish something....But the Master knows all the things that will happen in the middle.
Mary's whole life course changed that day. Her plans were purposefully laid aside to take the position and role of being the mother of the Messiah. She never asked for it. She was given that role because of her faithfulness and heart of genuine love. I picture Mary as having the most gentle spirit and nature.
The obedient change of her plans--that she willingly accepted - gave each of us a chance to be more than we could ever imagine.
What if our willingness to make a change--to accept His plan over ours--brings someone else an encounter with Jesus that they never expected.
In this season of joy and expectation--let your eyes turn heavenward. Let your mind and heart commune with our Heavenly Father. For all the coming changes, leave the details to Him. Be sure to let Him know--whatever He decides, whichever route He directs--whether familiar or completely unknown, is good with you. And then, my friend, sit with eyes and heart open wide--for YOU are in for the change of a lifetime!
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