I have been intrigued lately with Mary, The Mother of
Jesus. Mary was a special Mom because of
her son. Just like you and I, her children made her the mother she was. Mary grew up with a desire to nurture and God
saw in her the ability to nurture His Love in His son, Jesus. The innate desire
we have to nurture was first born in the love we had for a doll or stuffed
animal. As we grew so did our desire and
need to nurture. So we added siblings,
friends, child care and pet sitting to the avenues we used to nurture.
A legacy, by definition, requires us to give it TO
someone. Nurturing is giving of who we
are TO others, especially our children.
The legacy is born when we allow them to live out what we have nurtured
within them. With this comes laughter, dreams and tears of joy.
The giving of ourselves as a Mother may remind us of Paul’s
comment in Philippians 2 of being poured out like a drink offering on the
service of our children’s faith. Despite
feeling drained in every way when our children stumble on pressures and
temptations; or we struggle with potty training, driving lessons, first day of
school, college or even when we watch them first try out their wings. Who knew two little words could try both our
patience and our heart strings – from “I do, I do” to “I do", on their wedding day. The pain of nurturing
a little one does not compare to the joy we experience when one day the Legacy
of His Love shines in them like stars in the universe and we hear others speak
of our children the way Paul spoke of Timothy when he said; “ I
am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother
Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
2Timothy1:5
We can nurture our dolls and give them to our children with
stories to share and add too. Our dolls
can not pass on the legacy and thereby give to us the Joy that comes when we
have the privilege of watching our Legacy of Love in action.
I could not find a clip that best showed Mary’s moments of
joy; when she FOUND young Jesus teaching in the temples, when she heard God say
“this is my son with whom I am well pleased”, when she held Jesus and comforted
him and later heard him talk about God comforting us like a Mother does their
child, but none compared to the day when she heard Him say to her - ‘well done
good and faithful servant.”
Our dolls are cherished memories of nurturing born in us and
our children - the birth of His Legacy
of Love. I share Paul’s prayer that we
each may be rooted in His love so that His legacy may grow in our children.
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from
whom every family[a] in
heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray
that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you,
being rooted and established in love, 18 may
have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide
and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and
to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the
measure of all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his
power that is at work within us, 21 to him be
glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever
and ever!" Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21”
