Tribute to Mary

Is it just me, or does Christmas feel like it came about two months early this year? It does not feel like Christmastime to me. I've been struggling to get into the spirit of the holiday as a result.

But don't get me wrong, I still love Christmas. It truly is the very best time of the year. I've had the privilege of putting together two Christmas programs for my church this year - one for our ward Christmas party, and one for Christmas Day.

It's been incredibly rewarding to be a part of all that. Nothing brings the Spirit like music does, so naturally, I included a lot of it in both programs.

The first one was performed at our ward party back at the beginning of the month. I originally wanted to get a young couple in our ward with a brand-new baby to play Mary and Joseph, but they weren't sure they would be able to come. So I tried another couple, who also had a baby. But they were going to be doing something else for the party that night, and wouldn't be able to play Mary and Joseph. So, it ended up being my husband and me playing the parts, with the loan of another couple's baby as the infant Jesus.

I've always loved Mary. In every account in the scriptures that involves her, she comes across as a woman of incredible faith, grace, and courage. In the next life, she's one of the people I most would like to meet. This is a woman who, as a mere girl, accepted the charge to become the mother of the Son of God. I can't even imagine how incredible and terrifying that must have been. Aside from the whole "unwed mother" thing, and the gossip and scorn that came with it, there was the prospect of having to raise the Son of God. Mothers are the greatest influence in their children's lives, and raising any child is a challenge. To raise the Savior... that had to have been an awful lot of pressure for her. But she didn't hesitate. She gracefully accepted the call, and the rest is history.

One of my favorite scriptures about Mary comes from a passage about the Savior in the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 3:5-8). It says, "And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.

 “And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.

 “And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.”

That's it. That's all it says about her. Just, "...and his mother shall be called Mary." But when you put it into context with the rest of the passage, it's truly beautiful. The passage is all about the Son of God, and the works He would perform. Its purpose is to illustrate just how magnificent Christ is. And the fact that it ends with a mention of His mother tells me that her part was not merely to bring Him into being. She truly, literally, was His mother. She raised Him, and taught Him, and helped Him on His path. She wasn't just a minor character in the Savior's life. She was part of its very center.

It was an honor to portray her in our Christmas program. Sitting in our decorative stable, gazing at the baby in my arms and picturing what Mary must have been feeling... it touched me deeply. I'm so grateful for that amazing woman, and her part in the Savior's story. I hope to be able to have the kind of faith that she did, and answer every call from God, big or small, with the same kind of unwavering obedience. And though I'm not in any hurry to depart this life, I do look forward to the next, when I can meet her face-to-face and thank her for everything she did to help make the Savior's life and sacrifice possible. 

Merry Christmas!

My little angel poses with the stable.