Mary, Did You Know?

Have you ever sat back and wondered how something might have gone if you wouldn’t have done this or that? Not necessarily speaking on regret in particular. But just some decision that would have changed it all? Made it all different from how it is now?

Sometimes my mind, as I am sure many minds, wanders and wonders about the times before these times. The path I was on and where it was headed…how it would have turned out? For me, there was one pivotal decision I made that changed the course of my history and future. For others maybe it isn’t one choice. Maybe it’s a lot of tiny decisions that make it all up. As for me, the decision to keep my baby changed my whole world. Hastier choices could have been made and lives would be so different if it wasn’t for that decision.

Last night I watched the movie *Star* with my family. At some points in the movie I would look up and realize that I was the only person still in the room. I just felt this deep connection to the story line. I think anyone really can associate with the general scheme of it. A person stands in front of a hard decision and makes the hard one. This choice changes not just her life but the lives of people TODAY!

Imagine if Mary would have said, “No thanks,” instead of saying, “Let it be done.” How would our lives be today if she would have declined God’s plan for her and let her free will drag her in another direction? It seems like the only plausible option to most people for Mary to bear God’s son. And Mary just goes with the flow and lets the path take her instead of taking the path.

At Christmas time a lot of movies come out with this common premise. What would Nicolas Cage have done if he wouldn’t have let her get on that plane? What if George Bailey would have never been born? Even in *A Christmas Carol, * the life of a man is shown from different perspectives to see how his choices have changed lives, and not for the good in Scrooge’s case.

But I like the basic question at the heart of it all. Did you follow God’s plan for you or YOUR plan for yourself? Take a moment to ponder your path to really think of where you’re heading. Let this season be a reminder that Gods plan, while maybe not the one you thought it would be, is still His and is always for your good. And if you think you’re too far gone, like you’ve blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this: You, my beautiful friend, are not THAT powerful.

Be Safe! Be Great! Be YOU!

Amen