Can anything good come from Nazareth?

Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time for Christmas right?

STOP! We need to celebrate Advent first!

I was thinking about Mary today and comparing her to Eve from the book of Genesis so my blog is centered around those two

Wait, I'm prego?

 Can you imagined Mary's reaction when she is told by an angel that she is "highly favored." Excuse me! You have the word person. There is nothing significant about me. I am a 12 year old (we don't know her age but know she was likely 12-15 years old). I am girl. I am from a poor family. I am from the middle of nowhere town called: Nazareth.

Nazareth was such a small community that it was considered insignificant in the First Century. According to the Internet, which we know is ALWAYS 100% accurate, it was a town of 400 people. Seriously that's smaller than KERSEY!!!!

Mary would have not thought of herself as significant, at least in humanly terms.

Yet, an angel comes to her and announces the Good News! You have been chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah, the Savior! Yes, I know you are poor. Yes, I know you are a virgin. Doesn't matter! God is coming into the world and you are the one he wants to use!

Have you ever had a dream? A vision? A passion? Something God lead you to do that you felt was impossible without his help? Welcome to Christmas. This was impossible! Have you taken Biology or Sex ed? Not to weird you out but it is impossible to have a baby without both an egg and sperm. You see when a mommy loves a daddy VERY MUCH.....But God sometimes likes to do things the hard way.

Eve vs Mary 

 This story reminds us that there is hope and peace despite our circumstances. Many years earlier, Eve was tricked. She was deceived. A woman whose name means: "Giver of life" ironically brought death into the world through her (and her husbands disobedience). They believed God was holding back form them and believe the lie of Satan (depicting as a snake in Genesis 3).

But Mary had a different Fruit. The fruit of her womb is Jesus. Where the fruit of sin led to death, the fruit of belonging to Jesus brings life and purpose. Although Eve was entangled by the lies of the snake, Mary came and crushed it with her foot.

I love this picture of Eve and Mary (below)



This painting is called, "Mary comforts Eve." She looks at her mistake and her sin as any mother would look at their daughter. With eyes of love and forgiveness.

Jesus was coming and would forgive Eve for her disobedience. Jesus would forgive even those that put him on the cross.

I love comparing Eve to Mary because I think Mary was pregnant with more than just Jesus. She was pregnant with hope, peace, and freedom from sin and shame.


It was a long journey for Mary form the Manger to the Cross but she could always return to the promise she had been given by the angel Gabriel. "And he will reign over Israel forever, his Kingdom will never end!"

Summary

Christmas can be a weird time of year. We celebrate Jesus, we can get enticed by consumerism, we can be joyful but also missed loved ones.

Yet Advent, helps us to refocus. Four weeks to remind us why Jesus came. To bring us hope, to bring us peace, to bring us joy, and to bring us love.

Sometimes I feel like Eve. I feel like I can't do it. Or I've made too many mistakes. But then Jesus reminds me I can have forgiveness in him.

Other times I feel like Mary. Also unqualified to be used by God. "Excuse me, you probably should pick someone better for this job." And God reminds me that I am highly favored by Him.

And so are you! Highly favored by God.

So the question I have for you today is what are you pregnant with? Are you pregnant with hope and peace or are you worried, stressed, and tired?

I know more often than not I'm filled with the later but let us set our eyes on the example of Mary and be filled with the grace and power that comes from God.

Running with Jesus

The year was 2009. I was invited to run in my first ever 5k race in Johnsonburg. I was invited and figured since I was 17 and in decent shape so I did not need to train. After all, wrestling season was just a few months removed so I would probably be okay.

I raced at a good pace (for a non-runner) but as a competitor I still wanted to finish as high as I could. 

The trick with 5k races is you have your top finishers. Top male, top female. But then after that it is broken down into age groups and gender. At the time I was in the male 19 and under division. As I ran, I saw a girl in front of me. It was also stressed to me to push hard at the end. The last 30 seconds of the period in a wrestling match, for example, held the most importance. Score at the end, finish on top.

So I ran hard. And I passed her! And as I passed her, I ran to the side of the road and started upchucking whatever I ate for breakfast that morning.

Fast forward to last Sunday.

Another 5k.

As I look around I notice there was not as many people in my division for the race. My goals had changed. Finish under 25 mins and place in the top 3 in my division (Males: 20-29). It was a muddy race. As I ran; I felt good. The first mile. Thought about walking at the turn but kept a jogging pace.
 Only stopped to tie my shoe at the top of the hill at the 2 mile marker. 

But I started noticing two things. 1) There was not a lot of people in my division and 2) I was going to reach my goal of under 25mins if I could at least finish in 9 mins. Fast forward to the final quarter and I just got passed.

I had being passed! When I'm driving down the interstate I hate it when someone passes me. I just get competitive and pass them (unless they are driving ridiculously fast). In which case, I judge them for being reckless (but I am never reckless.....I promise.....) 

Back to the race: I get passed. I notice this guy is older than me. He is certainly over 30, in fact, he was 44! I could take this as an insult! I need to pass him back. I need to finish 10th overall and not 11th.

But I said "no". I looked at my stopwatch on my phone and was determined to keep my current pass and not run faster than I needed to. I knew I had my record in hand and figured I would certainly finish in the top 3 in my division (I did not know I was in first).

What does this have to do with anything?

I'm proud to say this shows I have demonstrated growth. (Getting married and having a child will do that do you).

We need to be resilient but we need to also show wisdom. That's one thing I love about running is it tests you mentally.

And we can  make life one big competition. I could look to my neighbor who has a bigger house or a bigger paycheck and say "they are more successful than me" or I could realize we are on the same team.

It's not about comparing myself (or yourself) to others. Because honestly to the person finishing in last I give them a lot of credit. It was not a nice day to be running. It took courage to decide they were still going to run despite less than ideal conditions.

The same is true with life. Life is less than ideal. Crap happens. How do we respond to the crap determines who we are as a person.

In running, people talk about their PR. This stands for their "Personal Record." They try to always get a lower number. If you ran at a pace of 7:08 per mile. Maybe try and get it under 7 mins.

This makes the competition less about comparing yourself to others and more about comparing you to you. Are you improving? Or are you slacking? Am I being wise with my decisions? Is it okay, if I help others at the expense of myself?

As a following of Jesus, I would say yes. More importantly than my personal goals is helping others achieve their goals and leading the meaningful life God has planned for them.

PR's can be incredibly selfish. This is what IM going to do. This is how IM going to better myself. But what if we flipped it. This is how im going to love OTHERS. This is how I'm going to treat OTHERS.

I want to increase my Personal Record. I want to see how forgiving I can become. I want to see how considerate and generous and Christ-like I can become.

I am nowhere near where I want to go. And if someone passes me I will cheer them on! But I won't give up.

Who's with me?