Life never quite turns out like you’ve planned.

Just when everything seems to be going along smoothly… 

BANG!…

inevitably, something always goes wrong…

or there’s an unexpected turn of events…

and you end up somewhere that you never expected to be…

having to pick yourself up…

and start all over again.

 

Well…

everything had been going along fine for me.

I had so much to look forward to.

The plans for my life were beginning to fall into place.

Some months back, my father had arranged a husband for me.

Joseph.

I’ve met him a couple of times.

Nice man.

Quite a bit older than me, but that’s fairly normal.

Both of our respective parents thought that it would be a good match.

Joseph’s family only have a small plot of land…

but they also run a carpentry business in the village.

They’re not wealthy or powerful or well-connected.

But they’re solid.

Respectable.

In fact, he’s distantly descended from King David.

Very distantly.

But still…

my family are just humble peasants.

Quite unremarkable.

No great pedigree to speak of––

nobodies really.

So, this marriage is a pretty good deal for us.

Dad had to scrape together a bigger dowry than he could really afford…

but he said that it was worth it.

Marrying me to someone like Joseph is crucial for Dad…

it will enhance his standing in the community.

And, in reality, Dad can’t afford to keep me at home any longer.

It will mean there’ll be one less mouth to feed…

which could be the difference between whether Dad can keep his land…

or not;

between the family surviving…

or not.

So, there’s a lot at stake.

And, in any case, I’m thirteen now…

so, it’s time to get married.

And, really, I’m looking forward to it.

Getting married to a good man is what I have always wanted.

It’s what I have been raised to hope for and expect in life:

get married to a good man…

look after him…

have children who will carry on his family name…

and hope some of them live long enough to look after us when we’re old.

And now it had all started coming together.

Our families had already begun planning the celebrations.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

It was fairly early in the morning. 

Mum and dad were both out in the field…

getting ready to plant this year’s wheat crop.

I was at home…

having just tidied the sleeping area…

I was making breakfast for my younger brother.

When, all of a sudden, there was a wooshing sound––

like a strong breeze––

followed by a flash of bright light.

When it disappeared, there was a man standing in the kitchen.

Boy! It really scared the pants off me!

The porridge I was stirring at the time went everywhere!

And, before I could ask, “Who the heck are you?”…

and… 

“What are you doing sneaking up on a girl like that?”

He just launched into this speech…

“Rejoice!

The Lord is with you!

You have found favour with God!”

Who? 

Me?

Why?

I haven’t done anything!

I’m just a poor, young peasant girl…

from an insignificant family…

living in the middle of nowhere…

spending my days dreaming about getting married…

and stirring porridge.

What the heck would God want with me?

I’m no great leader.

I’m no genius.

I can’t even read.

And he says “God is with me!”

 

Well, this stranger continued…

in a poncy, flowery sort of way, but what he said…

basically…

was:

“Don’t worry, Mary.

I know that it’s all very strange. 

But don’t be afraid.

God has a special task for you.

Very soon, you’re going to fall pregnant…

and you’re going to have a son.

Someone very special.

A great king who will save his people.

‘God’s own Son’”.

 

Hang on a minute!

I may only be thirteen…

and I mightn’t be educated…

but I knew that’s not how things normally happened.

I mean, I wasn’t even married yet!

But that didn’t seem to matter.

Like, who I was, and where I was in my life, weren’t important.

 

And he kept on talking…

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you.

And the power of the Most High will overshadow you”.

 

Whoa! 

So… 

God is going to get me pregnant?

What? 

Like a husband?

Huh?

Is that like, even, um, kosher?

And what does that mean about Joseph?

Hang on!

What happens when he finds out that I’m pregnant!

He’ll know that he’s not the father…

so… 

he’ll assume that I’ve been unfaithful.

Being with another man when you’re betrothed is the same as adultery.

You can get stoned to death for that!

Unless Joseph’s parents don’t tell anyone…

but… 

why wouldn’t they?

His father’s honour would be at stake.

At the least, the wedding would be cancelled…

and no one else would want to marry me.

Dad would be disgraced…

and our family would be shunned by the rest of the village.

Nobody in the village would help us out…

when we need assistance harvesting the crops…

or when there’s another drought.

Our family would be financially ruined.

Dad could even kill me himself to preserve his honour.

Well! 

Silly me! 

Here I was thinking that I’d won some sort of lottery;

like I was being granted three wishes…

and I’d live happily ever after.

What a mess!

Favoured, huh?

God considers this a favour?

My whole life turned upside down?

All my hopes and dreams shattered?

Being put in a position of uncertainty, risk, even danger?

Why?

For what?

What could be worth that?

 

And, if I give birth to a new king…

won’t that put me in danger, too?

I’m pretty sure King Herod won’t be too happy about it…

and he’s a psychopath!

Then again… 

if this baby is God’s son, then, maybe, God will look after me…

and nothing bad will happen.

‘Cause, like, you know, people who follow God faithfully live such happy prosperous lives

Sheesh!

I may not be able to read, but I’ve heard enough Bible stories.

 

Do I even have a choice in this?

 

But what if I don’t?

 

If I don’t do this…

does that mean nothing’s going to change?

That the world will stay the same?

That things will just keep going like they are?

With people, like my mum and dad, struggling to survive?

At the whim of despots and dictators…

and stupid social rules?

 

And I guess… 

in a sense… 

making new life always involves danger and risk;

and a life without risk and danger…

is no life at all.

 

But why me?

Surely there are plenty of girls far more qualified…

more gifted…

more well-to-do?

I mean, if God wanted to make a baby who would be king…

then why not pick a princess?

 

God sure has a strange way of doing things.

 

It’s almost like… 

God want to say “up yours” to the way that the world normally works.

It’s like God wants to turn everything on its head;

to overturn our expectations and undermine our values;

to empower the powerless.

 

Maybe…

then…

I’m not such a silly choice after all.

Why not me?

 

And, maybe, if I go along with it…

I can make a real difference to the world––

to the sort of world that my children…

and their children…

will live in.

Yes, it’s scary.

And it’s certainly risky.

But what’s the alternative?

Do nothing?

Settle for a life of quiet insignificance?

 

“Here I am, God.

Let it be as you wish.

Use me to bring new worlds…

and new possibilities… 

to birth”.