virgin

"But how can this happen?” 

This is a question I have been asking lately. In the face of countless challenges that feel impossible and stalled, I don’t see a way through the dark fog. I sense a pull forward, a whisper to move into the mist, an ache in my heart, but the path is invisible and full of hindrances.

Most of us have asked Mary’s question at one time or another. We see lack everywhere we look: lack of money, lack of resources, lack of time, lack of people, lack of nuance, lack of skill, lack of knowledge, lack of voice, lack of desire, lack of power. At least I do. As I write this, I am feeling each of these deeply. When we can’t find a way through on our own, we shrivel up in fear. We lose hope.

I am often so afraid to bring my questions and desires to God because I don’t see a way in the wilderness, and frankly, I am worried that God will disappoint or fail me. And because I don’t see a way, because I can’t make a way, I don’t believe that God can, either. 

However, the wonderful, good news is that we aren’t the ones who must make the miracle for which we seek. Listen to the angel’s response to Mary after she asks this fateful question:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you… for the Word of God will never fail.” 

What an immediate perspective shift, a simple answer in the mystery of the Incarnation. The angel doesn’t give Mary a list of things she must do to live out her calling as Mother of God. The angel only tells her to be still and pay attention as God does through her what she could never do on her own.

Our ways are complicated. We meddle, we fret, we panic, we make charts and plans. We try to fix things (typically making them worse), force the prophecies to come true, and end up feeling defeated by the amount of work it takes to move the needle forward. 

But God’s way is simple and impossible. It is soft, quiet, intimate, restful, specific. It can be counted on. It will never fail. God desires that our yoke be easy, and our burden, light. God does not want us to fill our packs with the weight of control. It’s up to us to choose which burden we will pick up.

Mary’s final response is a declaration of her own surrender to the Spirit. She says, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Notice how different her response is than our often haphazard, casual faith that looks more like crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. 

Mary’s response starts with surrender of everything, and a prophecy over her future from a spirit of faith. In the same way, we must be willing to release our tight hold on our lives, and allow the Spirit to move intimately in the spaces that feel vulnerable and frightening. We must be willing to let the Spirit place a greater gift inside us than we could imagine. 

This advent, what are you asking for? What feels impossible? How can you ask honestly for what you want? Where might God be asking you to remain still as God works through you?