Have you ever considered that Mary was just any other young mom, like you and I?

The situations may look a little different but I believe the questions were probably the same.

• Is my child meeting his or her milestones the way they should be?
• Am I meeting their needs, not codling but not being to hard on them?
• Are they going to thank me when they get older or did I mess up somehow?
• Am I creating a strong enough foundation for them in God’s ways that they will be prepared for the future?

And I’m not sure if this should be a comfort or a worry that in all these years, we are still facing the same questions… In some respects I think motherhood has to be easier for us then it was for Mary because I mean she had some added pressure on her shoulders. She was raising God’s son! But we have to remember that even though Jesus was God’s son, he was still human. That’s another fact that sometimes we forget. Just like our babies he had to learn to crawl and then walk and talk. He still felt sadness and pain when he fell and scraped his knee. I’m sure he felt joy and humor when someone told him a joke. I’m sure he got mad or frustrated when he had a hard time learning something new and Mary had to help him to learn and understand how to handle those emotions just like any other child. Yes, Jesus was perfect and sinless but he still had to learn.

We don’t see much insight into Jesus’s growing up years but I assume Mary had many conversations with God asking for guidance. I am sure when he was older and had started his ministry that her prayers turned to asking for her son’s safety and that his message would be received well. We do the same thing. And when the events of their life take a turn for the scary or painful we are praying to take that away from them. Years ago I saw the movie The Passion of the Christ and the scene that has always stuck out to me but now more so as a mother myself is when Jesus is carrying his cross and he stumbles. Mary is in the crowd and she cries out to him, reaching for him to comfort him and it pans to years before when as a toddler he fell and hurt himself and Mary scooped him up to sooth his pain. That is all we want to do, we want to protect our children to keep them from experiencing any pain or heartache but we can’t always do that. I think of the mothers who see their children go through drug and alcohol addictions and as mothers we question what did we do wrong to allow them down this path, or the mothers who children are suffering cancer or a disease that is incurable and they see their baby withering away and there is no rime or reason that we can understand for the cause of this pain and we question why this had to happen to our baby. There is so much pain in this world and as mothers so often like Mary we just want to take it away from our child. We want to catch them before they fall or we ask to take their suffering. 

But what we can’t fathom in those hard moments is what the bigger picture is. Jesus knew that he had to finish his path in order to save us all and Mary had to allow that to happen even though the pain Jesus went through was unimaginable. She had to trust that God knew what he was doing. When I started this message today I honestly wasn’t sure where God was going to lead it but I want to encourage you. Hard times will come. We do the best we can as mothers and the rest we have to hand over to God because we are not enough without him. We don’t know the bigger picture of our heartaches and pains especially when it comes to our children but I want to encourage you that those experiences are not for nothing. God wants to hold us in our struggles and comfort us just like Mary wanted to do for Jesus but He also sees the bigger picture which we can’t. So as you go through this week and even the next few, think of Mary when you are struggling with motherhood and realize she was just like us. Another mama trying to do her best and build her son up to his full potential. Remember that God is on our side especially in the hard moments when it feels like we are alone.

So how did Mary do it?

• Prayer and Sacrifice

Because Jesus hadn't yet died for our sins the Holy Spirit was only to be found in the temple. He/It however you want to word it, didn't reside IN US yet. So I am sure that Mary did all she could to keep in the guidance of God.

• Patience and Understanding

She had to be willing to hand over her fears and worries to God and understand that HE had a bigger plan. Even though Jesus was blameless and never sinned, Mary still had to teach him about life which I am sure took patience I mean here was a kid who could do no wrong and was 100% honest about how he felt so that had to be frustrating for Mary sometimes. I know when my kids have 1000's questions and I'm exhausted I just want them to accept my response. I could see Jesus as a kid who kept asking why.

• One day at a time

We can only take care of one day at a time. Mary knew that Jesus was meant for something more but I don't think she knew what that meant in the end, not really. We don't know what trials and tribulations we are going to face, but we have to take each new day on as just that... a new day.

Following in Mary's footsteps is no easy task but we have to remember she was no different than you or I. Just another young mother trying to figure it out, day by day, asking for guidance from God with each new challenge.

If you would like to hear more on this, make sure to hop over to my podcast for a similar message but with a voice to match and a few more examples.

*This post may contain affiliate links which means that with purchases I may earn a small percentage. Please know that your purchases cost you nothing extra and your action helps to provide for this site and in turn our family*

-Lindsay