Mary Would Shock GMA Too With Her Submissiveness!

Today, after I dropped off my 4yo son at preschool, my 2yo daughter and I walked over to our Church's outdoor nativity still set up.  I figured it would be our last close-up look of the year, and my kids love seeing the baby Jesus. How is it so simple for them and not for so many adults? But I digress. Anyway, it was chilly out today and drizzly - kind of like Seattle weather - and I stood there with my hair blowing in the breeze and frizzing up and thinking about how I wasn't very comfortable.  It was chilly, and wet, and windy.

And then, all of a sudden, my focus shifted to Mary.  There she was…kneeling next to her beloved son…the King of Kings.  The little shelter that was around the Holy family was breezy and chilly and rainy.  The wind was affecting the Holy Family as it was affecting me.  All of those people present in the Nativity story were affected by the elements.  I thought that perhaps the weather might have been like that at the time of Jesus' birth.  Whatever the weather was, it sure wasn't nice to give birth in a dirty stable possibly subject to the outside elements.

Mary was STRONG!!! Which one of us would like to take a donkey ride for miles while 9 mos. pregnant knowing we will definitely not be giving birth in a hospital with competent medical staff and the comforts of solid shelter, food, and a dry clean bed?  Yup, Mary was one strong momma!  She had to submit to God's will for her and accept the circumstances surrounding the birth of the world's savior.  She was okay with the King arriving into the world on some hay.

Interestingly, and often overlooked, Mary also had to submit to Joseph's advice and care for her.  Joseph lead the Holy Family to that stable in Bethlehem.  She trusted him as the head of their household to know best for them …and she submitted to it.  She didn't argue and pester Joseph…"Joseph, what do you know?  I'm staying put.  Are you crazy? You expect me to get on that donkey?  Have fun because I'll be right here."  How the world would be different without Mary's submissiveness - both to God and to her husband.

This brought my thoughts to a news story I read yesterday about Candace Cameron's remarks yesterday on Good Morning America regarding her "submissiveness" to her husband.  Women around the country, I'm sure, shrieked in horror!  Feminists everywhere (in my mind) wanted to storm the set and burn their bras on air!  Candace clarified her remarks by saying she uses that word in a Biblical sense.  Well, she might as well have been speaking Martian.  Most of our society knows very little about the Bible, much less the definition of a word that is in the Bible.  Candace Cameron has been happily married for seventeen years! Not a lot of people can say that.  Perhaps Cameron knows something most other modern women don't.  Submissiveness might not be such a bad thing.

Candace Cameron Bure and family

Being submissive within a marriage does not mean being a doormat.  It is "strength under control", as Candace said.  Marriage is all about give and take and sometimes submitting to what is best for the family even when it's not what our selfish heart desires.  Mary displayed strength under control, don't you think? She submitted to God's will and the will of her husband for the good of her family.  Can you imagine if Mary were a guest on Good Morning America in this day and age?  How she would shock the world with her humility, obedience, and submissiveness!  She would be trampled by news agencies everywhere - not to mention what feminists would do to her.  Ultimately, our own happiness lies in submitting our lives to God's will for us.  Mary knew that.  She was free from original sin.  It was not on her heart to stray from God's word.  It is in submission that we are actually free - for we do not have the earthly constraints holding us back.  Mary is the ultimate example of a wife and mother.  Mary showed us all what graces can lie before us when we submit.