Whose Life Just Keeps Changing

“See, I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it happen to me as you have said.”

IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES, my husband and I had season tickets to the orchestra in Oklahoma City. When my older daughter was born, I honestly believed that our biggest adjustment as parents would be that we could no longer attend these concerts. What a surprise to find that everything changed!

When you became a momma, everything changed in your life as well—didn’t it? Whether you came to motherhood by birth, fostering, or adoption, your daily routine, experiences, and relationships all shifted. Can you think of those early days of motherhood and all of the changes you experienced at once?

Mary’s motherhood story was far from ordinary. When she became engaged to Joseph, she didn’t know that an angel would soon appear and change her life forever.

The angel told Mary that she would give birth to a baby who would be the Son of God. Overwhelmed with the news, she replied, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” And it did.

Mary’s life changed the moment she was told that she was going to carry the Messiah, and her life shifted again in the moment she first held Him in her arms. But the transitions were far from over.

Mary and Joseph received another heavenly visitor, this one announcing a deadly threat from the jealous king Herod. The angel Gabriel warned Joseph: “Get up. . . . Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him” (Matthew 2:13). And in an instant, everything changed again and they were off, fleeing what was familiar and living as refugees in a land far from home.

At first glance, there’s not much we can relate to in Mary’s story. A few thousand years and a few thousand miles make her experience seem so far removed from today’s modern motherhood. Yet Mary’s life reveals a theme consistent across every generation. Motherhood means that life constantly changes. It means we live in continual motion and must trust God across each shifting season.

The Messiah’s momma teaches us all an important lesson. God knows every step of our story, and He knows exactly when the changes will come. We can trust Him. May the profession of our faith in God be the same as Mary’s: “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” His love is steady. His heart is true. And even when the world around us is in constant motion, God’s presence will remain settled in our hearts.

Tonight we pray for the momma who feels like life just keeps changing. Lord, just when she thinks she has it figured out, a new set of challenges presents itself. She rolls with it, making adjustments where necessary, but she misses consistency. She just wants steadiness. There was a time when she craved adventure, but today she’d just like ordinary and predictable. Lord, help this momma remember that You are her rock and that You never change. She can look to You and count on You in every shifting season. Bless her tonight.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Jesus, these changes and challenges are keeping me up at night: