We have had several Nativity sets during our marriage. Our current one is a real beauty by Jim North. It is very large and gives a folk art depiction of the scene. Our Mary is shown kneeling with her eyes gazing lovingly at her son.

The Bible doesn’t tell us a lot about Mary. We are told she was a virgin engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. She must have been well versed in the Jewish religion. Since women were not highly regarded at that time, the fact that she knew her scriptures speaks well of her family.

We can postulate that she knew of a savior to be born. Just think how the angel’s words must have turned her world upside down. She didn’t hesitate or make excuses. She accepted his words and asked how it could be. Then she burst forth in song and glorified the Lord. Would this be our reaction to startling news? We humans like to plan our lives and even our days. Mary accepted and praised.

I think that I can learn a lot from Mary – acceptance, praise, adoration, and patience. The Christmas season is so busy that nerves seem to wear thin, thus I‘m going to try to focus more fully on praise, adoration and accepting things as they are. I‘m sure that this will make my Christmas a more God-pleasing one.