Thoughts

"Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself."

 I'm a thinker.  Sometimes I think too much.  I can't stop my brain from going here and there and everywhere...it's a circus in here.  I'll admit that I have a hard time understanding that fact that when Chris tells me he isn't thinking about anything, he really isn't.  

Thinking can be a very productive thing, or it can be destructive if we don't allow God to hold every thought captive.  Mary probably thought a whole lot...in the beginning she most likely thought about her reputation and went back and forth between knowing that she was doing something God called her to do, and then wondering if Joseph could really love her and believe that all this was true.  During her pregnancy, she probably thought about the life within her, with thoughts of joy and excitement when she could feel him flutter within her and kick out as he grew.  She also probably worried, like any mom, for his safety, for his life, for what would become of him.

And then he came...she experienced the sacrificial act of giving life to another...and life was given to her.  And others started to realize what a gift that had been given to the world...and she treasured it...she went within herself, into her thought world and just sat there in silence.

How has God brought wonder into your life so far?  Take a moment and hold those thoughts captive...sit and be still...embrace what the Holy Spirit has done in your life...treasure it and look forward to what is to come.