Merry Christmas !!!!! I hope your day will be filled with absolute JOY !!!! There are so many layers, elements and topics worthy of print and discussion on this day. The one that has stirred my heart in years past and again today as I type these words is the significance of a woman at Christmas.

Jesus was a man. Santa is a man. Still hoping to meet Jesus but every Santa I’ve met has been a male. But the fact is that Christmas would not have happened without a woman. Her name was Mary and her story was unlike anything the world has ever known. She was visited by an angel and notified that she would be pregnant and her child would be the Son of God. Stop and imagine that. A virgin is engaged to be married and she finds herself with a child.

Mary had no idea how her soon to be husband Joseph would react. She has no idea how her community would respond. How she responded, in my opinion, is the model for all of us who follow Jesus. Her reaction can be found in Luke 1:28. "I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May your word to me be fulfilled." Then the angel left her.

What an awesome testament of hope, trust and FAITH we find in her words. Such a blessed and divine example to embrace as we celebrate this day? This day was made possible by a courageous young lady who gambled her entire future because she believed. The rest is history, our history and legacy as Christians. May we all live into that example of believing things we cannot understand at the time. May we all have the courage of Mary to trust in the words of The Lord.