Treasure These Things

For all mothers everywhere.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

Luke 2:19, NIV

Among my most precious earthly possessions is an old trunk. Scratched and battered, it sits squat and square by my desk. On the front, just below the scuffed brass latches, is the hand-lettered name and address of one of my life-mentors. This trunk was all she carried with her almost a century ago when she left her home in England to travel by sea to North Africa. There she became a mother to the masses for over fifty years, welcoming new life into the world as both physical and spiritual midwife. Her trunk, now filled with treasures I’ve gathered over the years, is a daily reminder to me of mothering and all it represents. 

A trunk is a perfect symbol of mothering.

I think Mary, the mother of Jesus, would agree. We often quote that familiar scripture, “Mary treasured all these things in her heart.” Her heart was a treasure trunk, as it were. And she tucked much away inside.

What I did not realize about this oft-quoted scripture is that Luke repeats it twice in chapter 2. Did you know that?

And what happens between the first mention and the second is worth stopping what you’re doing, grabbing a cup of tea, and sitting down a minute to look close.

Luke 2 opens with the drama of an engaged, heavily pregnant teenage girl making a long and uncomfortable trek to another city because of a government decree. To make things even more stressful, she went into labor and gave birth to her baby in a stable.

No complaint is recorded. Only obedience to the One who had declared to her in private that she was bearing the Messiah, the Savior of all humankind.

That’s so often the beginning of motherhood. Obedience through the pain, faith in the One who gives us a tiny, new, dependent life to steward. Trust in His promises of more than we can see or feel in the dark night when comfort escapes us and the hard work of mothering demands more than we think we possess.

That’s the first treasure. We are given more than we possess.

Just after Jesus’ birth, shepherds came running into the stable to see Mary’s new little charge. Falling on their knees, they worshipped Jesus, declaring the angel words they heard proclaimed across the heavens above sleepy Nazareth.

Surely the clamor of the worshipping shepherds drew a crowd. Verse 18 says that all who heard it were astonished at what the shepherds said. 

Not Mary. She was privy to the promise of the Promised One. She was deep in thought about the marvels unfolding around her.

But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean. 

Luke 2:19, NET

Mothers are privy to the promises of the Promised One. He confides His secrets to us about the ones we nurture. He entrusts these treasures to us so we can see beyond the hay and straw, the smelly stable, and the less-than-ideal circumstances so we will steward them with all our might.

Another treasure is God’s promises about our children.

As she nursed Immanuel, Mary was still trying to make sense of it all. She was reasoning and thinking deeply and attempting to find a logical structure, a plan. She wasn’t sure what being the mother of the Redeemer of Humanity might actually entail. She hadn’t quite figured out how to balance worship with work.

Worship is a treasure that makes the work of mothering so much easier.

As the days turned into weeks, months, and years, Jesus grew to what we modernly call adolescence. Regardless of cultural label, Jesus reached the moment we all do, when childhood is left behind and we cross the threshold into maturity and responsibility for our own thoughts, choices, and future direction. Jesus knew His future. The One who is, who was, and who is to come was crystal clear on His purpose on earth, and set out to accomplish it.

In the process, He stayed behind in Jerusalem during the annual pilgrimage for Passover. His parents couldn’t find him and grew distressed. For three days they searched, and on the third day (do you see the predictive parallel here?) they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Jesus were astonished at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were overwhelmed. Luke 2:46-48.

I’d say. Overwhelmed is probably an understatement.

Then Mary scolded him for scaring her half to death.

Jesus’ calm answer was, Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house? v. 49

Didn’t you know?

No, we often don’t know. We who were entrusted with promises and insight about our children in their early years often find ourselves in the dark when they become adolescents. We don’t understand the change happening to them and we begin frantically searching for the child we just hugged last week, the one who marched up to us and handed us a cluster of daisies, the one who asked us to snuggle until they fell asleep.

It would seem that Mary is the one in critical transition here, not Jesus. He was being who He was meant to be. Mary, on the other hand, was transforming.

One of the treasures of motherhood is transformation.

In the first treasure passage, everyone was astonished at what the shepherds were saying about the little baby Jesus. He is the Savior! He is Christ the Lord!

Now in the temple, everyone is astonished again. But this time, they are astonished at Jesus’ understanding and his answers. This is no second-hand astonishment. This is first-hand, direct, straight from the Savior himself. Jesus has taken the lead in the narrative of His life on earth. Mary must step aside and let him go into His Father’s house.

Letting go yields more treasure than your trunk can hold.

Jesus rose obediently and went with his parents that day back to Nazareth. But nothing would ever be as it was again. It was time for a new season, made possible by all the seasons before. 

But his mother kept all these things in her heart. 

Luke 2:51, NET

Mary is tucking things in her treasure trunk again. But this time, she’s different. Her name isn’t so important anymore. Her old identity, the Mary who did the hard thing, the obedient thing, has been transformed. 

A mother's heart is like a treasure chest. As she treasures these things along the #parenting journey, she is transformed. #motherhood Click To Tweet

The introspective Mary trying to understand God and her child, who happened to be God (wait, what?), has become mother. She has let go of the complicated plan and embraced simple faith. Her child has taken His place in His Father’s house, and she is no longer trying to understand. She’s just tucking treasures away.

This mother became a witness to the glory of God. Now that’s a treasure I long for.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people. 

Luke 2:52, NET

Lord, I’m sorting my trunk today. Show me the junk and help me let it go. Help me tuck the treasures inside for safekeeping. Amen.

@audreycfrank

 

Image by Ray Shrewsberry • 💙 💙💙 from Pixabay