Keeping it to Myself

I have been mulling over why Mary would have pondered in her heart the wonderful event of having the Magi (or Wise men) in her home rather than sharing the good news with others. Can you imagine sweeping your front porch only to look up, and seeing several richly dressed men carrying very expensive travel bags along with their camels , and they are coming to your front door! They explain to this bewildered mother that they saw the star that shown to let it be known that the King of Kings had been born. They may have been worn and dusty from the trip, but their faces were shining as bright as the star because they found the house they were looking for that contained their promise they had heard about. Imagine how many nights they looked into the sky and said "Just a few more days, men and we will see the face of the son of God face to face!"

And think of Mary. What must she have thought as they arrived? Do you think she may have panicked a little because they could have arrived around supper time and she was trying to think of what all she could throw together in order to welcome these unexpected guests? Or do you think she may have possibly been over joyed that at just the right time, the Lord led the Magi to her home to bring her a renewed faith in that she was the mother of the son of God. Theology is not my expertise, but analyzing and letting my imagination run wild is. I have felt a little disconnected to Mary in that she obviously did not tell everything she knew as I have often done.

I have many times become too excited about something and the first thing I will do is to pick up the phone and call my mother or a close girlfriend. I usually tell my husband everything first, but I know that there is nothing like a woman to share shrieks and shrills with. What about Mary? Did she not feel so overwhelmed with joy to have such men of high honor kneeling to her small boy in her humble living room? The Bible does not say that she ran down the road to tell her mother, friends, or neighbors as soon as the camels kicked up dust; but that she simply "pondered these things in her heart." She received lavish gifts, but also gifts that had meaning of royalty, and even death. I think I would be wanting someone to help me bounce off ideas of all that had taken place or the possibilities of what they could have meant. But as I thought of why she didn't run and tell anyone, this is just a little of what came to my mind. These are my thoughts from my hammock and not a theology book...just my random thoughts.

1) What if Mary received so much criticism and gossip about her "immaculate" conception that she didn't feel safe to share any more info with others. When she first became pregnant we don't know if she told her mother, but we do know that she ran to her cousin Elizabeth's house and stayed with her for the first 3 months. She apparently felt connected and safe enough to tell her, but what about the others around her. I have found in my own life, sometimes it is better to let things roll around in my mind rather than "spilling the beans" about everything. Too much information can become used against the person telling, someone can get hurt, and words can become mixed. Maybe she wanted to keep those precious thoughts and words safe in her heart so that they could not be tainted by those who didn't believe as much as she did.

I don't know why Mary pondered in her heart, but I do know that it is a very good example for me to learn from in that it is not always best to share every detail about my life. I don't have to worry about what I say to the Lord because I know what I say is safe with Him.