No we can add this to the saga.
"She was a girl upon whom God had bestowed much grace (“favored one,” Luke 1:28).
I aint even gonna tell you her e-mail address, or at least the one she used with me in the beginning, lets just say, like everything else, it matches up, perfectly
"She was a sinner like all the rest of us, and she frankly admitted her low estate and her need for God’s gracious salvation (cf. Luke 1:47, 48). But she had responded enthusiastically to His offer of forgiveness and had been daily appropriating His limitless grace for growth and godliness. She was greatly graced of God. And she lived with a sense of God’s presence in her life. The Lord was with her (Luke 1:28). She enjoyed a beautiful moment-by-moment fellowship with God."
"In spite of her intimate knowledge of God, however, it was a shocking and fearful experience when the angel Gabriel appeared to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:30-33)."
Lucy's not giving birth to Jesus lol.
She's giving birth to his new church.
It's still a pretty heavy responsibility.
What if it was you?
How would you feel?
What would you do?
"Now the decision was Mary’s: the decision to resist the will of God, or to become the willing servant through whom God could carry out His plan. And this decision is basically a matter of trust. As the story unfolds, we see first of all Mary’s trust in God."
“What an honor,” you say, “to be chosen as the mother of the Messiah. How could she decline?” Wait a minute. You may be saying that because you know the end of the story, but put yourself in Mary’s place for a moment. Do you think anybody would really believe that this child was conceived of the Holy Spirit?
"And what about Joseph? He would know that he was not responsible for Mary’s condition. What would he say? Would he still be willing to marry her? Was she willing to give him up if it would come to that? In that brief moment in the angel’s presence, all of Mary’s dreams for the future flashed before her mind, and she could see every one of them shattered."
"The question boils down to one thing for Mary: “Can I trust God to work out every problem I encounter if I submit myself to His will?” Mary had enjoyed an abundant supply of God’s grace. She had reveled in her warm personal relationship with her Lord. But now He was asking her to face the greatest question in life for a believer walking in fellowship with him: “Mary, do you really trust me?”
"She answered immediately, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Her decision was to submit to God’s will and to trust Him with the consequences. Submission to God’s will almost always involves some risk. But God has promised to work all the details together for good, and we have no alternative but to believe it if we want to enjoy His peace and power."
"Her decision was to submit to God’s will and to trust Him with the consequences"
It's exactly what Lucy has done and I have never been more proud of anybody in my life.
"The willingness to obey God and trust him with the consequences is a foundation stone in a good marriage."
"Trust in God is only the beginning of a good marriage, however. There must also be a deep trust in each other, and no man has ever been asked to trust the girl he married more than the one in this story. Look then, at Joseph’s trust in Mary."
Lucy? I'll gladly settle for second place in this instance:-).
"One thing is certain, however. There was a conflict raging in Joseph’s soul, Whether he believed Mary’s story or not, others would definitely not believe it, and he would live with gossip about an unfaithful wife for the rest of his life. But Joseph was both a godly man and a gracious man. Whatever he decided would reflect both godly wisdom and tender consideration for Mary."
“And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife; and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus” (Matt. 1:24, 25). It was probably the greatest act of trust ever exhibited between a man and woman.
Lucy? Again, I'll gladly settle for second place in this instance:-).
"Trust is feeling no anger or jealousy when we see our mates talking to someone of the opposite sex. Trust is believing our mates when they tell us where they have been or what they are thinking, or when they explain what they really meant by what they said."
"When we really believe someone and later find out that we have been deceived, it makes us feel foolish and humiliated. But what other choice do we have? Without trust there can be no relationship. So we ask God for the grace to keep on trusting, and we believe that God will use our trust to make our mate more trustworthy if need be. You see, it is not just the Lord asking that question of us. Our mate may also be asking, “Do you really trust me?”"
In our own way, Lucy asked me this yesterday.
My answer?
A resounding yes.
“Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him” (Matt. 2:13). While it was still night, Joseph gathered some of his belongings together, took Mary and Jesus, left for Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This is worth noting. Mary is the more prominent figure in the Christmas story, yet Joseph is the one to whom God gave his instructions. Joseph was the head of his family, and he was charged with protecting Jesus from Herod’s wrath. Mary trusted his decision."
Who is receiving instructions first in our saga here Lucy?
What have I told you from the beginning :-).
"But there is no indication in Scripture that Mary ever questioned Joseph’s decision. And it happened again. After Herod’s death, the angel spoke to Joseph in Egypt: “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead” (Matt. 2:20). Again, Joseph obeyed immediately; and again, Mary trusted Joseph to do the right thing."
"As we saw in the lives of Abraham and Sarah, submission for a wife means trusting God to work through her husband to do what is best for her. And that includes trusting his decisions. But that is not exceptionally difficult when she knows her husband is acting in her best interest and is taking his directions from the Lord, as Joseph was...Joseph made his decisions in accord with the will of God."
Men, we have no right to ask our wives to submit to us when we are arbitrarily expressing our own opinions, asserting our own selfish wills, or doing what is obviously best for us alone. But when we have clear directions from God that are best for all concerned and can share them fully with our wives, then they will be able to submit without hesitancy. We have an obligation to lead them in the path of God’s choosing, not our own. We must learn to consult the Lord about every decision, spending time in prayer to seek His wisdom, searching the Word for his principles to guide us, and waiting for the settled assurance of His peace. And if there is an unquestionable desire to do God’s will alone, regardless of our own personal preferences, He will protect us from making grievous mistakes that will bring unhappiness to our families. Then our wives will be free to follow our leadership with confidence and trust. Trust is not an easy and automatic response. It needs to be developed, particularly with those who have been deeply hurt. We can help others build a stronger trust in us by our own deepening commitment to the will of God. When they see that we are yielded to him, they will be able to trust us.
Lucy isn't going to suffer the harsh criticisms of having what people thought was an illegitimate child like Mary did. She is going to have her own kind of stigmas and extremely harsh criticisms to deal with, trust me. The day will come and people will know what I'm talking about. The grace, class and courage with which she has totally submitted herself to God's will for her is beyond amazing to me at this point.
Words will never explain how much I love and admire you sweetheart.
More than worthy indeed.
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