“Have you even considered the possibilities? Look at what God did with the twelve men who made themselves available to Him. You have not even begun to imagine what God will do in you and through you if you invite Him into your life. Could Francis of Assisi have imagined? Mother Teresa? John Paul II?”
~Quote taken from Matthew Kelly’s forthcoming book The Narrow Path~

This Christmas season I’ve really been pondering, trying to wrap my head around how a meek and lowly woman (namely, Mary, the Virgin Mother of God) was able to surrender herself to do the incomprehensible, to give the ultimate FIAT, the ultimate YES. Mary had no idea what the path before her would eventually become. All she knew is it was God’s plan. That was enough for her to decide to make herself available and invite God into her life.

God never forced her, He gave her the option. As my great friend, Joannie Watson, would say, “God is a gentleman.” God patiently waits until you are ready. He waits for you to willingly say yes. There’s deeper meaning in a willful yes. On the contrary, a forced yes is empty and void of meaning.

Have you considered the possibilities? Have you considered the beautiful, wonderful journey your life could become if you chose to say yes as Mary did? Have you thought about what it means to say yes to God in your life. What does your yes look like? What is God asking of you? How is He drawing you near, calling your name, and inviting you into a deeper relationship with Him?

God is unpredictable.

Jesus was a radical.

There is no way our human minds could ever fathom the greatness He has in store for us or devise a plan that could even begin to measure up to God’s plan for us. It’s when we become too comfortable and begin to believe we have it all figured out, when God swoops in and proves to us again how in charge He really is and how little control we really have.

Surrender.

A word that just won’t disappear from my life. A word that has been surfacing time and time again over the course of the last year or so.

Surrender.

I’ll admit I have too much Martha in me and not enough Mary. Too much practicality, analytical thinking, processing, caution. Not enough gumption, courage, bravery, and willingness – oh how I long to have those things, though!

I’m not real big into New Year’s Resolutions, but I am really big into personal development and striving to become the best me I can become. We all should be, right? So as the end of this Christmas season approaches, I am making it a goal to work on surrendering entirely and completely to God’s will and not my own. I’m not quite sure how to accomplish this yet, but I’ll be praying, reading, and striving to become the handmaid of the Lord in this new year.

I invite you to come along on this ride with me and surrender your whole being to the will of God – whatever that may be – no matter how frightening it may seem!

Have you even considered the possibilities?