Sunday, December 3, 2017

Dear God,

I never weary of reading the story of the angel Gabriel coming to the virgin girl Mary.  As many times as I read it or hear it, I always love envisioning the event so long ago.  I see Mary.  I enter her story once again as I read it this first Sunday in Advent.

Oh, to be like Mary, accustomed to hearing from God, worshiping God and following God.  Only by faith did she even recognize the visitor as a holy man sent from God.  To stay and listen to his words rather than run away is a lesson in courage.  Then to say yes, to agree to God's plan and to move forward into a future she could never have foreseen is such a challenge to me, to all of us.  I want to be like Mary, a woman with a full heart toward God.

Thank you
for Mary,
O Lord,
your human mother
and a
perfect example
of faith
for us.
Help us
to be ready
to meet
angels unaware
this Advent season.
Make us prepared
to say yes
to you.

Love, Andrea