But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19
I’ll never forget his brokenness as he sobbed and cried in my office. In his line of work he was supposed to be strong, rugged and tough, but not on this day. His wife, whom he loved, had just cleaned out her stuff and took off and he thought his whole world was coming to an end. I didn’t know what to say or how to console him, so I just sat there with him as he broke down. In the silence God gave me a word for my friend. Calling him by name I said, “It may not look like it right now, but I promise you that if you will just keep your eyes on God, He is going to walk you through this. You are going to look back one year from now and be amazed at what He does in your life. God is going to exceed your expectations and all of this will be just a bad memory.”
About a year later I could see it all over his face and hear it in his voice as he was telling me how he meet her. He beamed from ear to ear. He and a friend had just “randomly” decided to stop by a local eatery and there at the counter she was. He struck up a conversation with her. They hit it off and exchanged numbers and a year or so from then I had the privilege of performing their wedding. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people more happy and tailor made for each other than these two. I could even see it on both of there families, as it was evident to all that they were destined to be together.
You may be on the other side of a situation like that, or you may find yourself right in the middle of one of the most turbulent times in your life. Let me say the same thing to you that I said to my friend. “I promise you, if you will keep your eyes on Him, He will walk you through it and amaze you.”
Mary felt the same way. She had been the object of ridicule and gossip in that small town, but now on the night of her Saviors birth, all she could do was “treasure up all these things and ponder them in her heart.”
The word “ponder” here means to “put it all together.” As her hindsight was so twenty-twenty, it all made sense to her now. For the first time she could see how her Heavenly Father had walked her through the most challenging time in her life. A time when she didn’t know for sure how it would all work out and all she could do was trust Him, and He made good on everything He promised her.
No matter what you may be facing today, let me encourage you to trust Him. And, if you’re on the other side of that place then take a moment to “ponder,” and thank Him for what He has done.