Remember

One of my prayers since I have been here is from Revelation 3:3:

"Remember, then, what you have received and heard.  Keep it, and repent."

I don't want to forget any of the things that I am learning here - but it's a pattern in my life to forget, and I inevitably have to learn things over and over again.  I have reread the Luke this week, preparing for Christmas and travel to Israel (I still can't believe I am going!!).  And something new stood out to me:


   "And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
   And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them." Luke 2:15-20


I always think about Mary and what she was thinking and how she handled all the pressure and excitement and so many other emotions that would come from carrying Jesus.  I think this passage reveals Mary's character.  She kept the words of the Lord and the miraculous things He had done, and she pondered them in her heart.  


God does amazing things around us all the time.  It's our choice to see things in this world as the divine work of our God - to give God the glory.   Then, it's our choice to keep these things, thinking about them, pondering them.   And last, it's our choice to allow God to change us through them.  


So, look around you and see the things that God has done for you, and for those around you - keep them - and then, be changed and be blessed!