Heartbeat Press - December 2023 Edition

Mary - A Moment of Peace 

Picture this: It's early on a Monday morning, and the sun has just peeked over the smallest downtown buildings but the city below is already buzzing with busy people. Office workers speed down the sidewalk, tightly gripping overpriced cups of emotional-support coffee, kids rush off to school with hurried good-byes from their parents, car horns blare on the interstate, doors slam as soccer moms bustle from one grocery store to another, phones ring off the hook. Take all of this in and...one timid teenage girl sitting alone in her home bathroom holding a newly positive pregnancy test. Unlike the rest of the world, the space around this girl has gone completely still - frozen, in fact - as she stares in dumbfounded horror at the two little blue lines on the test that slowly begin to blur as tears prick her eyes.

     Unsure how this even happened, the girl's mind races with unanswerable questions. How is she going to take care of a baby? Is she capable of being a mom? What will her parents think? How will she finish school? Will her boyfriend be upset? Will her boyfriend leave her? Every awful option and outcome rushes through her head, but as the shakily stands up, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes, nothing seems clear and pure panic floods her entire body. She's not ready to have a baby but what can she possibly do about it?

    Now transport the scene I just described to Israel around the year 6 BC. Replace the pregnancy test with a divine angel visit and the bathroom with a courtyard in the land of Galilee...and give the young girl and name: Mary. As strange as it seems, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was once in the same seemingly "hopeless" situation that many young girls find themselves in and, she undoubtedly had many of the same questions and fears. She was afraid, she was alone, and she was unsure of what to do next. Her world went still and her mind raced. And yet in that moment, the most chaotic moment of her young life, Mary heard the angel who had bought the news speak the most beautiful command: "Do no be afraid." 

    Spoken softly and filled with a truth that clamed her heart immediately, Mary understood that, blindsided as she was, she truly had nothing to fear. Deep in her soul, she knew she would be all right because, though she couldn't understand his reasoning, God, the creator of the universe, the world, and Mary herself, had specially picked her for this moment. He knew what he was doing and had perfectly planned this pregnancy for a greater and glorious good. He didn't make mistakes or have lapses in judgment and, with his help, she was and always had been ready for this calling.

    Mary's unplanned pregnancy would go on to save the world, and, while hers was the only child to be the son of God incarnate, her story is still a beautiful testament to the simple truth that no child is a mistake. They may not be expected, their mothers might panic at the news, their lives may even hang in the balance for a moment. But, given peace and a trust in God's timing, every "hopeless" situation can become a great blessing. And yet, if Mary had lived in our modern world, she would have been the perfect candidate for an abortion. Preyed upon by the abortion industry and its lies that said she wasn't ready, capable, or strong enough to have a baby, she would never have had the opportunity to feel that moment of peace that convinced her to let go of fear. 

    Instead, she would have fallen for the "quick" and "easy" solution that Planned Parenthood offers to hundreds of girls every day. She might have believed them when they said, "This is the best thing for you." She would have convinced herself that, in getting rid of her child, she was exercising the empowerment that every woman is entitled to. She would have felt a wave of unimaginable terror wash over her as the procedure began, undermining any confidence she had that her decision was right. She would not have known until it was too late that, having allowed a murder, she would have to live with the shame and guilt of that realization for the rest of her life. She would have experienced the hell that thousands of women go through every year because no one was there to tell them, "Do not be afraid." 

    Where are the angels who will tell these expectant mothers that, no matter their circumstances, fears, or setbacks, their children are a blessing and they will be all right? Where are the calming voices that can proclaim that the Lord has a plan and doesn't make mistakes? Where are the hands that can snatch life from the jaws of death though patience and love? They are here, in the Pro-Life movement. As the God-appointed protectors of life, we must also be the hands and feet of Christ in the life of every mother who needs our comfort and our care. We have been called for such a time as this and we must answer boldly and quickly...because we never know when we will encounter a Mary in need of us. 

Source: Wikipedia, Luke 1:26-38 

Photo Credit: ar.inspiredpencil.com