Mary

"She walked aimlessly down the street towards the cafe. Her mom was in the check-out line of the nearby grocery store. It was a cold December night in their small town.

 'Pregnant'. 
That was the word that was echoing in her mind over and over again. She walked by the brightly lit shops, seeing but not seeing the colorful displays and sale signs. The doctor had confirmed her month-long suspicions earlier that day. She thought about her mom and dad. They were an ordinary family. Mom worked part-time at the Christian elementary school near their house and her dad was an engineer with a construction firm. Both of them were hard-working and had raised their children to work hard as well. She had two siblings - a sister, and a brother and she was the oldest of the three. She was a 'good girl' by every societal standard: straight A student, never skipped classes, sang in the church choir, volunteered at local charities, never stayed out past her curfew, never went to parties were she knew there would be drugs/alcohol. 

'Pregnant'. 
That one word had brought down this idyllic life that she had worked so hard to maintain. She had gone to the doctor after-school the day-before to get the test done. The kind doctor had looked at her very understandingly when she told her that she had not had the courage to take the home pregnancy test. The doctor had smiled at the end and told her that someone from the clinic would call her the next day. 

'Pregnant'. 
She felt a dizzy spell come over her, and walked faster to get to the cafe quickly. She paused at the glass door, with her hand on the doorknob and peered inside. She could see people sitting around tables, enjoying their coffee and their sweet treats. Friends laughing and joking together, couples gazing adoringly into each other's eyes, baristas and wait-staff flitting around tables smiling at customers while they refilled emptying coffee mugs. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. The warmth of the cafe enveloped her and drew her into a momentary false sense of security. But it was gone as quickly as it came upon her, leaving her shivering. 

'Pregnant'. 
Overwhelmed by emotion, she turned and fled the way she came. She ran all the way to where her mom was loading the car. The rest of the evening went by in a haze. She felt that she was in some form of alternate reality where something like this could have happened to her. Dinner, and then upstairs to bed after a futile attempt at keeping up with family time conversations. But bed for her didn't mean sleep that night; she tossed and turned restlessly all night. The tears came around midnight and she finally cried herself to sleep a little before dawn. 

He had been a mistake from the beginning, and she had known that. He was kind and gentle, Godly, nerdy with an athletic streak and tall with the kind of smile that would melt your heart - in short, the perfect man. Their friendship had blossomed casually - and most of it over discussions about God and religion, and all under the supervision of their Campus Minister. After a while he offered to drop her home in his car when it was too late to get ride the bus, or walk home by herself. Everyone had been so impressed by his gesture - what a noble, Godly thing to do! They found themselves trying to prolong their moments in the car, which had expanded to include a drive-thru at their local Dairy Queen. Soon others noticed their friendship and closeness, and encouraged it along. But he was too good to be true, and she had always known that he would break her heart. 

"Pregnant?" His expression mirrored her own expression of shock and horror at what had happened. She allowed him a few moments to process the news and sat silently next to him on the bench. It had taken her two weeks to work up the nerve to tell him; and even now she felt that courage falter. She wanted to give him the time and space to process this news. After a few minutes of silent contemplation he took her hands in his, and looked at her as he said, "I love you. I want to support you through this, but I don't know how. My life is on a completely different path right now with Grad school starting in the fall." Her heart skipped a beat when she heard those words. "I need more time to think about this." She nodded and he held her in his arms as she cried. "It will be okay", he said, in an attempt to soothe her. "I'm sure we will figure something out." Somehow she wasn't that sure. All she knew for certain was that she had already begun to love this child in her, and she couldn't see any way out of this situation. Together they walked back towards their college campus. 
"Will you come with me to the clinic tomorrow?" she asked him. 
"Yes, I think I can make some time in the afternoon."
"Okay," she said, and smiled as she laced her fingers through his. He smiled back at her. But in her heart, she had a great sense of foreboding of what was yet to come. 

A month later, she found herself standing at the water's edge holding his letter in her hand. It was the day they had planned to tell their families about the situation - together. His letter was succinct, and brief: He couldn't see himself as a father at this stage of his life, he was very sorry for the situation that he had put her in and he hoped that she would find it in her heart to forgive him. The past month had been difficult for him to handle. Arguments over doctor's appointments, future plans and expenses, became commonplace for them and it shook their relationship to its foundations. The thought of this baby had loomed like Mt. Everest in front of them and they just couldn't see past it. She looked over the water at the setting sun and folded the letter in her hand. Her eyes were dry, and her mind was clear as she thought over what she would do next. She placed a hand over her stomach - she had someone else's life to think about now as well as her own. The child that grew within her was almost 3 months old, and she loved this child more than she could have imagined possible. She knew no-one would understand, and that everyone would tell her what to do next. But she knew what she wanted to do, no, what she had to do. This secret that she had treasured in her heart couldn't be kept a secret anymore. The time had come for it to be revealed. She knew what she had to do. She took one last look at the ocean and breathed in the sultry, salty air. Then she turned around and walked back towards her small town."




Mary is another unlikely woman in the genealogy of Jesus. An ordinary teenager, she made her mark with her unquestioning obedience to the will of God. Jewish society at that time was quite hostile towards an unwed mother (as evidenced by Joseph's initial reaction); and Mary showed great courage in the face of certain shame. We have perfect hind-sight vision that her pregnancy was in fact of divine origin and not through any fault of hers, but her society at that time had no such knowledge. Nor would they have been likely to believe her story of a visit from an Angel. For them she would have appeared as a young woman who got pregnant outside of marriage, and would have treated her as such. Our world today is still quite a hostile environment for unwed young mothers, and not many churches are supportive of these young women who find themselves on the outs with society. Even now, it is easy to ignore the plight of the unwed mom, because it makes us uncomfortable to think about the imperfections and brokenness of human nature. Here, as with the previous story, I would like to reiterate that this is our reality - one we all need to address. These are young women who often find themselves bearing the consequences of the actions of two individuals all on their own. And in times like that it is important to remember that our God has called the church to show Love, and Grace and to not condemn. Our God specializes in taking the imperfect, and broken and making it a part of something bigger and far more beautiful. Irrespective of how society at that time viewed her, Mary was blameless and obedient, and God used her obedience in the midst of negativity as part of His Grand Plan for the Whole World. This is part two of a five part series.