Just Say Yes

Today is the feast of the Annunciation, the day that Mary submitted to God's plan for her life and thereby, Christ entered the world. I've been pondering this feast for a couple days now, and just like that, I've fallen in love with it. I often think about the circumstances of the scene; the angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she has been chosen by God to give birth to and mother the Savior of the world. That's a LOT of responsibility for a fourteen year old girl, amirite? I think about how I would have reacted...fourteen year old me would have straight up had a panic attack if I heard that one. 

And she said yes. 

She said yes despite how crazy and impossible it seemed. Despite the shame and ridicule she would experience. Despite the fact that she very well could have been killed for being unmarried and pregnant, not to mention the unexplainable pain she would experience thirty-three years later when Christ completed His mission on Earth. But she enthusiastically and lovingly says yes. Mary changed the world in an astronomical way...simply by trusting in God.

In Mary's yes, two very important things were contained: trust and obedience. What are two things I struggle with? Yeah...you see where I'm going with this. Mary's Fiat sets off a beautiful chain of trust in and obedience to God; one that will play an enormous/astronomical/massive part in the redemption of the world. How can you NOT be encouraged by that? How can you not want to drop everything and run towards Christ?

This is why the feast of the Annunciation holds so tightly on to my heart. I struggle on a daily basis with trust and obedience, not only to God, but those around me as well. But what if it hurts? What if I look silly? What if I can't handle it? I know myself, so I know what's good and what's bad for me. I'm an adult now, I can make my own decisions. In my life, there are so many what ifs. So many I's. But today, I take a moment to refocus my eyes and heart onto the example that Mary set for me some 2017 years ago when she joyfully proclaimed "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38)

Now, I am by no means trying to hype up Mary and downplay Christ, or say that she is equal to or better than Him. I don't want to romanticize it or make it sound easy. I just think it's so important to recognize the magnitude of this feast. God's love for each and every individual one of us is so deep and so wide that He willed this beautiful miracle of self-gift to happen. Our mother Mary not only loves God, but also loves us so much that she wanted to participate in this gift. When I think about the amount of love that we celebrate, I have never felt more cherished in my life.

When I contemplate these truths, I feel so compelled to see the world with new eyes. To love the world with a new heart. To speak the truth with a new voice. I want to follow in the footsteps of Mary and Christ.

The lesson for today: When God asks of you, just say yes. I promise it will be worth it and more.

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for He has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name."

(Lk 1:46-55)