She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus

Do you think the Virgin Mary had a “bucket list”?

A bucket list is a popular trend in which people make a list of goals that they want to accomplish before they die: things like writing their life story, visiting a foreign city, or going skydiving.

It is hard to imagine what Mary’s bucket list may have contained. It is likely that she had some goals in life, even if they were just dreams of how her life would progress once she and Joseph were wedded. We can see that Mary’s greatest accomplishments happened when she put aside her own goals and said yes to whatever was on God’s bucket list for her.

We know that it was not always easy.  Mary probably never anticipated an early pregnancy or having to flee to Egypt or watching her only child die a criminal’s brutal death.  But then again, she probably never expected that she would have a front row seat to hundreds of miracles, to her son’s resurrection, or to the world changing descent of the Holy Spirit.

Mary shows us that saying yes to God’s plan for our lives can be far more rewarding – and surprising – than any list we could ever come up with.  Of course, there are challenges that we might never have imagined, but they are far outweighed by the adventure, the excitement, and even the fun that comes from having a living relationship with almighty God.  You never know exactly where he is going to lead you.  You never know exactly what he might ask you to do.  But you can be sure that following him will bring you untold blessings, just as it did for Mary.

Today, take some time to honor Mary as the woman who shows us how to say yes to God’s plan.  Thank her for her openness to God and her willingness to trade in her bucket list for his.  And above all, trust that God has nothing but good planned for you.

-Word among us