Don’t you wonder what kind of thoughts ran through Mary’s mind when she held the promised Messiah as a baby in her arms? What she had experienced was the first of it kind, no one before her had an experience or story for her to try to follow or emulate. She was on a journey where no woman had ever tread or would ever tread again. Her story is one of a kind. No one before or after her would give birth to the Son of God.
And I know this story has been told so many times over and over again. But it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I had this kind of epiphany about Miriam, as a young Jewish lady in a family, engaged to be married in the rolling hills of the Galilee. In the context of the political and cultural time of history that she lived, provides a deeper understanding of what she actually may have gone through. For one, from in the context of her village and family life, I wonder how she told everyone the news that she was indeed pregnant with the Messiah. She was the only one that saw the angel. And assuming that like today, not everyone in her village had an incredible experience of seeing an angel in their lifetime. So the fact that she saw an angel was also very special and unique. And when the angel told her that she would become the mother of the Messiah, it must have been both very exciting and terrifying. And I wonder who believed her when she tried to explain to others what had happened and what will happen? Did her family embrace the news? How about Joseph? We get a little glimpse of the dilemma he went through. And on top of all of that, for a young woman to be pregnant before marriage in those days would be a serious offense to the family name. She may have had to juggle between her excitement of the soon coming Messiah and the struggle of carrying out the divine calling on her life.
I don’t think we give her enough credit for the amount of faith and courage she must have had. From some of the pondering questions that came to my mind, resulted in a possible story that fills in the gap around the timeline of the account in the Bible. It is exciting to imagine Miriam’s family in Nazareth and Joseph’s family that lived in Bethlehem and how they interacted and dealt with the scenarios that came their way. I’ve since become very passionate about Miriam’s story and the role that she played in ushering in the Light of the World.
Some have told me that my version of this story is similar to the idea of The Chosen TV series that was recently produced, providing some context and personality for the characters that we read about in the gospels. I love the series and am honored that people have told me this.
You can purchase the book online on Amazon. There is a kindle version, paperback option or even a hardcover selection as well. It can make a great gift for family and friends. Here is the link.
(P.S as a new author it is so helpful for people to submit a review of the book after they have purchased it. If you can do so, I would so appreciate that!)