Favored
Today I was asked to bless a baby girl. As I looked on her, I could only think of how perfect and beautiful she is and how vulnerable she is. Raising her will be a huge undertaking for her parents. She will keep them awake nights and cost them not only money, but worry and heartache as well. And yet to her parents, she is indeed a blessing. In spite of financial worries and the uncertainties of the future, I am sure that they would say that they are most highly favored.
To be favored of God did not mean that Mary held any special place in society of that time. As the mother of the Messiah, she would be blessed to raise a child she did not understand and watch him die a horrible death.
Mary was definitely afraid for the future. Even the angel's assurances would not be enough to drive away all the fear. Yet she faced it as a servant of God. "May it be to me as you have said," she tells the angel. She sets an example for us today. Later her son would teach us to say it in a prayer: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done."
May God's favor shine on us today, and may we always respond in obedience to God's will.