You just found out you were pregnant.
You already know the gender and the name.
You already know how his life will impact the world for God.
You know he will be a godly man. Following God to the ends of the earth.
Pretty good, right? I think it's every mother's dream to have a child like this. The elation, the joy.
Now to keep going:
You're not married.
You're only a teenager.
You're in a culture that would guarantee the loss of your fiancé, probably your family and possibly your very life because of it.
An angel told you.
Someday you'd have to give up your son to die. To die for you.
Not so fun now, eh?
Catherine Hickem tells the story of Mary in a way that most people have never heard it. She makes Mary real. Of course Mary was real. She was a real person long ago who gave birth to God's Son. Who raised Him and sent Him on His mission. Right. That's as far as most people go. But did you know Mary was actually a mother, actually a person just like you and me? Sometimes we forget. We focus so much on the coming of Christ that we forget His mother was a real person who potentially could have lost her life by carrying Him in her untouched womb. But God has a plan. He saw Mary as a humble teenager in a world of selfish people. A girl with a solid background of faith in Him, unafraid to ask Him for help and clarification but wholeheartedly willing and able to raise a King. Heaven in Her Arms takes Mary's journey from start to finish and applies the lessons she learned to the mother in the 21st century. Mary conceived, carried, birthed and raised Jesus Christ with God's help. Our faith and obedience to raise our own royalty should be modeled after the greatest mother of all time.
As a new mom I loved this book. Taking Mary out of the Bible and into my hands to study was an awesome experience. How could I miss all this about Mary? Maybe because I wasn't a mother at the time and we are so focused on the birth that we skim over her at Christmastime. Well, Christmas is about Jesus' birth and we should celebrate that. But we miss so much about the faithfulness of His mother that it's wonderful to go back and really pour over her. What would I do if an angel came to me and told me all this!? Really. Would I believe? Would I have faith to carry this out? Would I ask questions to make sure I'm understanding the situation? Or would I ignore him, turn away and laugh like Sarah? Would I panic and run? It doesn't matter that I'm not raising a King, a Saviour of the world. I'm raising a gift from God none the less. This book really made me understand Mary and, in turn, my role of raising a blessing from God. It made me focus on what it is I need to do as a mother, where I need to put my energy, and to ask for help from the Father who knows best.
I really encourage all mothers to read this book. Even if you aren't a mother, pick it up and check it out. You'll see Mary in a who new light and the blessing of being a mother will encourage you to keep going and pursue God with all you have!
You can find the book here.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Booksneeze.com for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.
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