Just imagine what it was like to be nine months pregnant and to have to climb on a donkey for about a four day journey? Was that really necessary? How many times do we lift up our eyes throughout the day and say things like, ‘do I really need this right now?’ or ‘did this really have to happen to me?’ I’m not speaking of the catastrophoic events of life, the real tragedies, they have their own questions. I’m referring to the little annoyances, the frustrations, the ‘is this really necessary’ things.
One of the things that we learn very early on in this spiritual journey of ours is that if we are to have any inner peace at all, we must learn to live in the mystery. Trying to figure things out just leads to frustration, disappointment and doubt. There are things that we do understand, things that we will understand (in time), and things that we will close our eyes never understanding. (Perhaps we will get the answers in our eternal home, but then we probably won’t care about the answers anymore).
You would think that once Mary said her eternal ‘YES’ that things may be a bit easy for her. After all, look what she agreed to do. She said ‘yes’ to watching her Son, suffer for people who didn’t even realize the sacrifice. She said ‘yes’ to having her heart broken. She said ‘yes’ to total surrender, total obedience, total love. Don’t you think that there could have been just a few little favors for that ‘yes’?
How about when we say ‘yes’. Don’t we expect things to be easy? Don’t we sometimes expect some special treatment? Don’t we expect answers? We do…..and yet, we shouldn’t. And so, today we climb on that donkey and we take that difficult, bumpy ride. We still have the questions but we know, somewhere in our deepest selves….we know that we are not alone. And we know….
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah
And we find peace……living with the questions, living with the mystery, living and loving our God.
Reflections on the Journey 
Praise God, that he thinks higher and smarter and better than we do!
If left to our own devices this would be a seriously sad lot… seriously pitiful!
But hey! Look on the brightside…
sitting on the donkey had to be better then trying to waddle, fully laden, that far!!!
I know when I was prego with my second child, I had pelvic separation and could barely walk!
I would’ve picked the donkey for sure back then, even tho it probably stunk, and had a bony back, and maybe even had fleas!
:O)
Oh Kaz, you always make me smile. You are right…better than walking, but even the car ride to the hospital was tough for me.
This definitely puts a new spin on the difficulties, however minor, we all deal with on different journeys. I’ll remember this especially as I pursue my craft and keep on with the writing journey. There’s a great reward at the end of the donkey ride!
Great point Joanne…a great reward at the end of the ride. Good luck with your writing.
Clever intro. We never know the reasons for the little challenges we face, so it’s best to trust that God is working for our good and to be patient. We can’t see the whole picture…and so faith helps us. 🙂 Mary is a wonderful role model.
Yes she is, and you are so right, our faith helps us. Trust in the darkness.
After reading your post today…I will look at my challenges a little different. 🙂
Oh Dee, I am humbled, thanks.
Some good thoughts you have shared with us.
Thanks Susan, glad you stopped by.
I’ve always been fascinated by Mary… God saw something so special in her… He put it there, but she obeyed and He knew that she would. He trusted her and she was faithful. What a lesson for us!
Good post Andie!
She really is Sonja. And in her model of humility, obedience and love, she always points us straight to her son.
Andie: I have often thought of that rough donkey ride, liked this post and how you made it applicable to us….Thank you for this. Lori