Mary's Confidential - Keeping it 100 in Private!

In 2025 Social Media is awash with people sharing their personal feelings, and grievances. There seems to be the blurring of boundaries of what should be for public consumption and what should be withheld for private consideration. As I reflected on this spilling of all things into the atmosphere with the goal of keeping it I thought back to a young woman who lived over 2,000 years ago.

Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, really had  a lot about which she could talk. She was the recipient of mysteries which we still do not understand.  An unexpected startling visit from an Angelic Messenger turned Mary's world upside down.  The incongruity of her being a virgin and  being pregnant  must have baffled her young mind.  The fact that Joseph had serious questions about marrying her at all after she told him this strange news worried her. Mary knew the law.  A woman pledged to be married could be stoned to death for a breach of the marriage contract. Undoubtedly she could say a whole lot about her situation. 

History does not report Mary running hither and yon with news for all to hear. She never jumped to defend herself from the gossip that inevitably occurred in her small town.  Some scholars report that a Roman military detachment had occupied the town for a few months. As her pregnancy advanced the town gossips got busy. They spread tales that Mary was the soon to be a Baby Mama of one of those handsome young men.  All the while Mary held her peace and hid these sacred revelations in her heart. 

Mary shows us that there are some things that are worth keeping to ourselves. Ruminants, like cows,  take in their food and then switch it from one stomach to another  where it undergoes important alterations. This process causes the initial substance to transform until it is ready for use outside of its body. The final product from the cow is milk from which we get cream,  ingredients to make butter and other useful items. All of these changes take place hidden from human eyes. When the time comes the product makes its appearance. 

I wonder how much richer our lives would be if we emulated Mary by pondering more and talking less about some of our experiences.  It might benefit us to let things ruminate in our systems before sharing them with others, if at all. Obviously Mary shared  her experiences at some point or we would never know she hid them in the first place. During this Advent season and going into the New Year will you join me as I try to be more like Mary in doing more introspection and saying less?   Let's remember everything is not for public consumption. 

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19