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\\u201cHow will this be,\\u201d Mary asked the angel, \\u201csince I am a virgin?\\u201d The angel answered, \\u201cThe Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail. \\u201cI am the Lord\\u2019s servant,\\u201d Mary answered. \\u201cMay your word to me be fulfilled.\\u201d Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:34-38).

Among the various ways to reflect on this angel visitation, pondering Mary\\u2019s response is beneficial. Even though the events that take place with her are unique, her attitudes and response are held up within the narrative as worthy of praise and emulation.

She is honored by God not for her own merit, nor for what she has done, but because she is the chosen vessel for this display of God\\u2019s grace. This is a beautiful thing. God choose her simply because. She is the person whom God unexpectedly chooses to use, bringing no outstanding credentials to the task. Living on the edge of the nation, she brings nothing on her r\\xe9sum\\xe9.

Many of us live with this nagging sense that we are unusable, that our r\\xe9sum\\xe9s too thin. God will have none of that. He created us! Though we may be marred and broken by sin, we are never beyond repair. Nor are we ever beyond use for his purposes. We wonder how salvation will overcome all the obstacles of sin, ignorance, and defiance that we place in its path. Like Mary, we ask "how will this be" that God troubles with such a wretched, self-centred, inconsistent, and spiritually impoverished person as me? God just smiles saying, \\u201cWatch me!\\u201d

Like Mary we may initially resist when God comes calling. But we are invited to move from fright to willingness. When she says, \\u201cI am the Lord\\u2019s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled,\\u201d Mary is not saying, \\u201cIt\\u2019s so clear now! I get it!\\u201d nor \\u201cI love this plan and I\\u2019m excited to be part of it.\\u201d She is saying, \\u201cI have many questions, but I will follow.\\u201d

This is an important space for us to occupy. Some of us refuse to move toward Jesus unless it all comes together for us\\u2014rationally, emotionally, and personally. It is either rapturous joy in God or nothing at all. But often we can only do what Mary does\\u2014submit and trust despite the fears and reservations. That gives us a foothold for moving forward.

\\u201cLet it be to me as you have said,\\u201d Mary concludes (38). This was no simple matter. She is being asked to bear a child as an unmarried virgin. In joining God and his redemption plan, she will probably become the object of much doubt and ridicule. Still, as God\\u2019s servant, she will allow him to work through her as he wills. He can place her in whatever difficult circumstances he desires, for she trusts him.

The apostle Paul invites us to make this our permanent posture towards God. To the Galatians, he wrote, \\u201cSince we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit\\u201d (5:25). We do not, in fact, we cannot know where the Spirit may lead us. When we cannot see how God can use us, God says, \\u201cWatch me!\\u201d When we do not know where we need to go, God says, \\u201cTrust me!\\u201d

Take time this Advent to sit with Mary. See her move from \\u201cWhat on earth\\u201d to \\u201cAlright Lord, I will trust you.\\u201d And let the Spirit lead you on the same journey.

Though you walk in darkness, may you see the great light. Though you live in a land of deep shadows\\u2014may you see light! sunbursts of light! May God increase your life, expand your joy. May you be glad in his presence! May God give you the joy of a great celebration, sharing rich gifts and warm greetings (cf. Isaiah 9:2-3 MSG).