Unasked and Unanswered

I am very much a Type A personality. I like to to think I'm in control (even though I know I'm not). I am now willing to accept the things I can not know, but sometimes pursue them until I hit a wall, or cause myself great distress. (Learned that lesson the hard way which is why I've improved.)  But the reality is, I like it when decisions are made, plans are in place, and things go smoothly. While I can adjust at the drop of a hat without incident, I like going into things with as much information and as little anticipated surprise as humanly possible.

So, as we are now in the full swing of Advent, I've been re-reading everything related to the birth of Christ in the Gospels, looking for things I hadn't before noticed. And true to Himself, God showed me a huge contrast between Mary and myself.

Luke 1:30-34

But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call Him Jesus. He will

be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of

His father David, and He will reign over Jacob's descendents forever; His kingdom

will never end." "How will the be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

Girlfriend is sitting by herself, an angel tells her she's going to have a baby, and her first question is how will it happen? Um, no, what you really meant to ask is "WHEN" will this happen because HOW doesn't tell you when you have to have everything ready and done by in order to be most prepared to become a mom.

No lie, both of my kids, the minute I found out I was pregnant, I went into hyperdrive trying to plan everything. And the closer I got to delivery, the crazier I felt trying to be completely prepared.

And here's the hardest part for me to wrap my head around. She is never told 'when' it was going to happen, just that it was. 

Was it as soon as she voiced informed consent? (Luke 1:38) Did she know the moment it happened? Or did she realize it must have already happened as soon as Elizabeth said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!" 

But there's so much more as a woman that I want to know.

Did she have cravings?

Did she have morning sickness?

Was she spared the painful birth that the curse brought on because she was giving birth to Jesus and did that give her false hope for future deliveries?

Did she talk to Jesus while He was growing and what did she say or sing to Him?

Was she extra cautious during her pregnancy?

Did His peace, clearly a part of her, keep her calm? 

Was she less prone to hormonal mood swings?

When I shared this with my husband yesterday, I asked him if he'd ever thought of these things. He said no one thinks of these things.

None of these answers (as far as I know) are in Scripture. Or at least I've never found them. But they're almost fun to think and wonder about because they so clearly illustrate the level of trust and faith Mary clearly had in God. Why? Because she didn't ask the angel any of them, she just asked how will it be?

I don't know what Mary was thinking specifically before her recorded response to Elizabeth. But if I had to guess, I'd think it was something like this:

I don't know where this season of Advent has each one of us. But it would seem to me we are all anticipating something whether it's good or bad. But regardless of what we think is coming our way, let's remember that Jesus came for us. He came because He loves us. And He came because He wants us to give Him control.