Musings of MelissaBrooke

For the future of the world…

• Posted by mp1213 on December 15th, 2008 filed in Christmas, Songs for a New World, Trusting God

Could I have been any more of a Debbie Downer in my last post? I was tempted to delete it, but a discussion of blogging ethics in my senior seminar class a few weeks ago persuades me to do otherwise. So to maintain the credibility and transparency I desire as a writer, I will leave my grumbling post for all to judge and will attempt to make up for my lack of positive thinking.  

And what better way to begin thinking positively than with the anticipation of Christmas. Typically my Christmas preparations consist primarily of making sure I have the perfect gift for each dear person in my life. This year I am looking at Christmas a little differently.

2008 brought about a series of changes in my life, one after another. The most important of these is what I can only describe as a spiritual transformation I had while performing in Godspell in February. That story could be an entire blog post in itself, but the highlight is this – I truly believe God placed me in the position of sharing my faith onstage to make me question the foundation of it and to realize how far away from Him I was at that point in my life. That idea didn’t fully settle in for me until the communion scene of the final performance, when real tears streamed down my face and a fully repentant heart came forward, crying desperately for the redemption only Jesus could bring. In that scene it wasn’t the character of the prideful teacher finding her faith in God as she sang, “oh, dear Lord, three things I pray..,” it was me. The words “prepare ye the way of the Lord,” sung at the end of the show, were never so sweet for me. I worshiped God with a pure and holy heart that performance, and my life has not been the same since.

 As Christmas grows closer, I have been particularly drawn to the story of Mary this year. I guess it started with a song that I performed at my voice recital last week, called Christmas Lullaby from the musical Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown. I’ve always thought the song was beautiful, but never really understood its meaning until now. 

 I’ll never have the power to control the land
Or conquer half the world, or claim the sun
I’ll never be the one who simply waves her hand
And has a million people do the things I wish I’d done
But in the eyes of heaven, my place is assured
I carry with me heaven’s grand design
“Gloria, Gloria!” I will sing the name of the Lord,
And He will make me shine.
And I will be like Mother Mary, with a blessing in my soul
And I will give the world my eyes, so they can see
And I will be like Mother Mary, with a blessing in my soul
And the future of the world inside of me.

Mary was not a powerful figure in her society. As a poor woman, she did not have many options available to her. Yet her obedient and loving heart pleased the God who created the universe enough to give her one of the highest callings this world has known. The story is truly amazing. God could have chosen a multitude of majestic ways for His own son to enter the world, and He chose the heart of a young woman who trusted Him enough to risk her marriage and place in society to follow Him.

Mary is not only an example of obedience, but of immense courage. I think a danger of our society is that the concept of trusting and waiting on the Lord can come across as passive. I see Mary’s place in this situation as anything but weak. It took a beautiful, feminine strength to listen to God and to trust Him against even the laws of nature.

I desire to trust God with that much fierce devotion. I want Him to see my heart as faithful and obedient. I want to hold unswervingly to the promise that He can and will produce His mighty works in my life.

So this Christmas, I am looking into the heart of Mary. I am seeing the story through her eyes, as a young woman watching for the Lord and waiting for the fulfillment of His promise.