Mary pondered and treasured

Mary treasured all these things as she pondered them in her heart.

I'll bet she did....pondered that is.  First it was an angel telling her she was a 'favored one'.  The child would be 'special'.  Then, she no more than gives birth and a motley crew of shepherds shows up claiming angels called this baby  "Lord, Savior, Messiah."

It had been unusual, to say the least, from the beginning.  The shepherds were just the topping of it all.  "Lord. Savior. Messiah."  Whatever could that mean?  So Mary pondered, even while she treasured these things....and she treasured these things even while she pondered.  She tucked these glimpses of the Divine into a corner of her heart, to be considered at a later moment, when things had settled down.

She couldn't have known what it all meant and what was being asked of her, yet instead of rejecting or ignoring or even forgetting about it all, Mary tucked these enigmatic angel sightings as treasures.  Waiting.  Watching.  Wondering.

Did it all become clear on that day when she stood at the foot of the cross?  Or did she have to reach deep within her heart and pull out these treasured messages from God....so she could hang on in the face of the unimaginable.  Yet she had experience with the unimaginable.  I wonder if she continued to treasure that shepherds' message  from long ago....just long enough to see Easter morning.

What treasures do you have tucked in your heart?  What messages are there to carry you forward into the unknown?  What will you draw on when you stand at the foot of your cross?