“If you could be anyone in history, who would you be?”

I was asked that question when I was about eleven years old. My immediate answer was “Mary”. How cool I thought to be the mother of Jesus, to be chosen by God to have his son. However, my childlike faith could see no deeper.

I am the proud mother of three grown children. Each birth was amazing. Holding and nursing a child produces such a bond between a mother and child. Your desire is to love, teach, and protect them. When they were little, “mama” could fix anything. Sometimes just a Band-aid or a kiss would do the job, but as they got older, the protecting got more difficult.

Seeing your child hurt, whether physically or emotionally is heart-wrenching. I have helplessly observed my child in the hospital roasting from a 105 degree temperature, being x-rayed for a possible broken bone, or falling and scraping his entire face. All the hugs and love I gave could not fix their physical pain. I have watched as a first-love broke her heart in two, a friend betrayed her, or a coach humiliated him. My encouraging words or love could not mend their brokenness at the time.

Mary’s Viewpoint

Recently enjoying a Christmas program, I thought of Mary. Mary, who cradled Jesus in her arms, taught him, loved him, and protected him. I thought of her as she watched her baby boy be tied up and flogged until his skin was an unrecognizable mass of bleeding tissue. The tears she must have shed as he was ridiculed, spit on, and mocked. When the crown of thorns was pressed into his brow and the blood ran down his divine face, how she must have wept. I cannot imagine the pain with which her heart was bursting as she stood at Golgotha watching her son. She was helpless as Jesus was nailed to the cross, forgiving those who were hurting him, and breathing his last breath.

However, as an adult, I would not answer the question with the same eagerness as I did when I was young. Did Mary know what was to come as she nestled baby Jesus close to her bosom. “Mary, Did You Know?”

I doubt the angel that visited Mary so long ago, shared with her that the crucifixion was a part of her baby’s plan. Just as we know not what the future holds for our children. But just like Mary, we know that God is in control. She had to surrender and trust His plan for Jesus, as we must for our own. No matter the pain our precious children endure, God is in control.

-Donna