The heartrick
Reading: Luke 2:16-21
“Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”
(Lk 2:19)
“Ponder” means to weigh mentally, consider carefully or to meditate diligently. It is an art to be learned by every woman. ‘Think twice before you talk’ is a good dictum. It gives us time to ponder over what happened, what we heard and how we should react to that situation.
Most women are talkative. They are prone to emotional outbursts. If only a woman learns to keep things in her heart and reflect on the matter before she could speak about it, she would be considered a wise woman.
When we are taken by a surprise sometimes we may blabber. The shepherds came and told Joseph and Mary about the visit of the angels. Mary could have said, “I know all that before you. In fact I saw the chief angel Gabriel. He said God had chosen me to be the mother of Jesus ... Blah, blah, blah ...” But Mary just took things in and meditated. That shows the maturity of the teenager.
Another incident where Mary treasured things in her heart was when Jesus said He had to be in His Father’s house caring about His business (Lk 2:51). Here again Mary could have told Jesus that He was not old enough to act so independently and so on. But she restrained herself from answering Him, but “treasured all these things in her heart.” She pondered in her heart about how quick her little Son was showing up as the Son of God. Step by step she was brought to the realization that she was handling the awesome responsibility of nurturing God’s Son.
When we ponder, our thoughts get organized. It may take some hours, days or months. But as we meditate upon a certain issue the big picture will clearly emerge in our heart. Till then we must be “slow to speak” (Js 1:19). Plan your words. Remove words of hatred and replace them with gentle gracious words. Then convey the message lovingly but speak truth. Words spoken cannot be taken back. The fool is quick to speak. So do not be hasty to speak.
The tongue is in a very slippery place. It can slip any time if you are careless. Then don’t say, ‘I am sorry. It was a slip of the tongue.’
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
The heartrick
Reading: Luke 2:16-21
“Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”
(Lk 2:19)
“Ponder” means to weigh mentally, consider carefully or to meditate diligently. It is an art to be learned by every woman. ‘Think twice before you talk’ is a good dictum. It gives us time to ponder over what happened, what we heard and how we should react to that situation.
Most women are talkative. They are prone to emotional outbursts. If only a woman learns to keep things in her heart and reflect on the matter before she could speak about it, she would be considered a wise woman.
When we are taken by a surprise sometimes we may blabber. The shepherds came and told Joseph and Mary about the visit of the angels. Mary could have said, “I know all that before you. In fact I saw the chief angel Gabriel. He said God had chosen me to be the mother of Jesus ... Blah, blah, blah ...” But Mary just took things in and meditated. That shows the maturity of the teenager.
Another incident where Mary treasured things in her heart was when Jesus said He had to be in His Father’s house caring about His business (Lk 2:51). Here again Mary could have told Jesus that He was not old enough to act so independently and so on. But she restrained herself from answering Him, but “treasured all these things in her heart.” She pondered in her heart about how quick her little Son was showing up as the Son of God. Step by step she was brought to the realization that she was handling the awesome responsibility of nurturing God’s Son.
When we ponder, our thoughts get organized. It may take some hours, days or months. But as we meditate upon a certain issue the big picture will clearly emerge in our heart. Till then we must be “slow to speak” (Js 1:19). Plan your words. Remove words of hatred and replace them with gentle gracious words. Then convey the message lovingly but speak truth. Words spoken cannot be taken back. The fool is quick to speak. So do not be hasty to speak.
The tongue is in a very slippery place. It can slip any time if you are careless. Then don’t say, ‘I am sorry. It was a slip of the tongue.’
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
