“But Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” Luke 2:19 NIV
How often do I ponder in my heart and mind more than I speak? How often should I be more like Mary in that regard and not share things but keep them to myself?
Mary didn’t pull out her smartphone and post on her socials about giving birth or who visited the stable. She didn’t start tagging and hashtagging her intimate encounter with the world.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary to ponder means “to think about: reflect on; to think or consider especially quietly, soberly, and deeply.” (“Ponder Definition & Meaning”).
I’m sure that Mary often pondered things, but it is recorded three times in the Bible. She is also the only one who is specifically named in the Scriptures to have pondered in her heart.
The Bible doesn’t tell us why she wasn’t shouting this from the rooftops but I’m guessing it had to do with being overwhelmed.
I can’t imagine being in her shoes… well sandals, being visited by an angel, told I’m going to be the mother of the Messiah even though I am a virgin and engaged to be married to someone else. That’s a lot to take in for anyone, much less a teen girl. Just when I thought things were calming down, we were called to go on a journey when I was WAYY pregnant, and when it was time for the baby to be born, there was no room for us and we ended up in a stable.
I don’t know that Mary had a birth plan, but I guarantee whether she did or not, a stable wasn’t part of it. She and Joseph welcomed shepherds who came to see their new baby.
The shepherds shared their story with everyone, yet Mary didn’t.
In Luke 1:29, “Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.” (Luke 1:29 NLT). She didn’t question the information, she kept it in her heart. She trusted God with the details.
Three times within the first two chapters of Luke we read about Mary keeping these things close to her heart, not out in the world. The third time her pondering is mentioned is after she and Joseph had been frantically looking for Jesus and found him in the Temple. Jesus had just asked her, “Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49b NLT). Mary and Joseph didn’t understand at the time what Jesus meant by this, but we are told again, “And his mother stored all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:52 NLT).
Are there times when we share too much, instead of holding it in our hearts and pondering it?
Are we trusting God with the details or are we running to gossip or complain about our circumstances?
“Ponder Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ponder. Accessed 5 October 2023.
Mary was also alone – no women friends around her helping with the birth. She was such an extraordinary woman of faith and we can learn much from her.
Yes, I completely agree. Mary was an extraordinary woman of faith and we can learn so much from her!