“Yes” like Mary

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Annunciation, and I am realizing how beautiful it is.

Mary was this young woman trying to follow God and then BOOM. An angel shows up and says she has found favor with God and that she has been chosen to be the Mother of God. Like, really? That’s crazy. She’s not married and is understandably a wee bit concerned about the whole having a baby out of wedlock thing.

But what does she do?

She doesn’t stand there in shock and tell the angel Gabriel to get lost. She accepts God’s plan for her life and in an instant becomes the most revered woman in the Catholic church.

It’s kind of crazy if you think about it: God has this plan for each of our lives. He knows us through and through because he made us. And it’s not like he’s some crazy dude telling us what to do and is ordering us around saying “Do this or else!”. We have free will and can make decisions in our lives. Be he has this crazy awesome plan that is for our good. Our Blessed Mother is such a beautiful reminder of what God can do with our lives when we say:

This song has seriously been on repeat over the last day around here, and I just can’t get over how beautiful it is:

“Everything inside me cries for order/Everything inside me wants to hide/…/I’ll hold you in the beginning/You will hold me in the end/Every moment in the middle/Make my heart your Bethlehem”

Dude.

*sigh*

It’s just so beautiful.

Jesus, help me to always remember to live my life as a reflection of your love and a witness to the beauty of your divine plan. As you reveal your plan for my life, help me live an authentically Catholic life that mirrors Mary’s “yes” to you in the everyday decisions I have to make.

 

How can you say “yes” to God?