Today’s meditation in the Hallow app and chapter in the book, “The Reed of God” by Caryll Houselander, focused on Mary’s Fiat – or her “yes” to God. She was a young girl of only 14 or so. When the angel came to her, the first thing he did was to comfort her and assure her that she didn’t need to be afraid. The angel then proposed God’s plan for her life. An incredible, exciting, terrifying plan. He didn’t give her all the details as to how everything would play out, but she had the capability of giving birth to God’s Son – the Messiah, the One her people had been awaiting for centuries. And she agreed. She gave her consent. The book says,

“The whole world trembled on the word of a child, on a child’s consent. To what was she asked to consent? First of all, to the descent of the Holy Spirit, to surrender her littleness to the Infinite Love, and as a result to become the Mother of Christ. It was so tremendous, yet so passive. She was not asked to do anything herself, but to let something be done to her. She was not asked to renounce anything, but to receive an incredible gift. She was not asked to lead a special kind of life, to retire to the temple and live as a nun, to cultivate suitable virtues or claim special privileges. She was simply to remain in the world, to go forward with her marriage to Joseph, to live the life of an artisan’s wife, just what she had planned to do when she had no idea that anything out of the ordinary would ever happen to her.”

Mary lived a truly ordinary, humble life. She is a beautiful example of surrender to God’s Will for her life and doing so with complete trust in Him. When I think of surrendering my own life to God, firstly I wonder what good could I do. I am a broken person who doesn’t always make the best choices. Closely following that is fear. What is God going to ask me to do? Will I be up for any kind of monumental task? I’m tired and getting older. Looking to Mary as the model, she lived her mostly ordinary life. She kept a house, raised a child, followed her religion, nurtured her relationship with God and listened to His guidance when prompted. I am hopeful that I, too, can live my ordinary life the best I can, trusting in God as the antidote to fear.

I Found God today reflecting on Mary’s extraordinary, yet ordinary life.

Here is a beautiful photo of the statue of Mary surrounded by candles from the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, WI.