One of the greatest virtues of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was her ability to observe, treasure, and reflect often.
To observe is to watch with keen interest. It means to pay attention even to the minutest details. So all that our dear Mary did was to keep observing the happenings around this extra-ordinary child of hers as he was growing up. Mary never talked much, but she observed much.
And as she observed, she treasured her findings in her heart. To treasure means to accord utmost importance. It means to attribute much value, to treat with respect. Again, our dear Mary treasured what she observed in her heart. Her observations would have been a wasted effort if she did nothing with her findings. And again she didn’t talk much about her findings, but she treasured much.
And as she observed and treasured, she reflected on them often. To reflect is to think about. It means to cast one’s mind upon. It is to spend time meditating upon. Once again, our dear Mary spent time reflecting on what she treasured in heart. And again, she didn’t talk much, but she reflected much.
Why wasn’t Mary so possessive of her saviour-of-the-world son?
Because she was busy observing, treasuring, and meditating often.
Why didn’t we ever catch her feeling slighted when Jesus referred to her as WOMAN in the public at different occasions?
Because she was busy observing, treasuring, and meditating often.
Why didn’t she flood her Instagram, tik-tok, Facebook and other social media pages with pictures of the activities of Jesus, just to show off that the miracle worker was her son?
Very simple, she was observing, treasuring, and meditating often.
Do you know that one of the psychological tools for measuring maturity is your ability to observe, value (treasure), and reflect sufficiently? When these three characters are taken care of, the following actions will speak for themselves.
Do you get worked up easily?
Do you lose your temper easily ?
Do you give up easily?
Do you talk too much?
Do you ….? (Fill it up)
I suggest you pause, and then observe, re- evaluate your activities, and meditate sufficiently.
And you may ask ‘Observe what? Evaluate what? And meditate what ?
‘…whatever things are true, whatever things are pure, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy- meditate on those things (Philipians 4:8 NKJV).
AMARA HOPE 