Out of the Blue

A young women was working her way through college as a waitress (I'll call her Sally). Sally was hard working, dependable, always on time for her shift, and would even help out with other duties such as the register and hostessing when the restaurant was short staffed. One day, at the end of her shift, she was approached by the owner of the restaurant. The owner was a very savvy businessman and had about five additional restaurant chains across the state. The owner was well aware of Sally's work ethic and that she had been using her job as a waitress to help pay her way through college. Out of the blue the owner said that he was opening up a new restaurant a few miles down the road and wanted Sally to be the General Manager.

At first Sally thought it was a bad joke. But the look in his eyes told her that he was far from joking. They talked for another ten minutes and Sally was able to get most of her questions answered. Sally was very scared...it was a big step for her. The reality was that she was a waitress and she wondered if she really even had what it takes to run a restaurant?

In the end, Sally accepted the position and went on to run a very successful establishment.

* * *

Sally's story is very similar to when God sent the Angel Gabriel to Nazareth. God had chosen Mary to carry and give birth to His only son, Jesus. He picked Mary out of all the other women in the world. When Mary heard this message she was both frightened and uncertain how to respond.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luke1:28-33

Of course, we all know that Mary accepted God's chosen path for her. It would have been very normal for her to feel great joy and fear at this sudden "out of the blue" encounter with an angel.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Luke1:38

We can only imagine what was going through Mary's head after Gabriel told her the good news. One thing is for certain...Mary was and is favored by God. It really cannot be argued that Mary is the most important female character not only the Bible, but in the history of the world.

The importance of Mary cannot go unnoticed and to this day this is exactly why many people pray the Rosary. The purpose behind the Rosary prayer is to ask the Holy Mother to pray for us. It's always a blessing to have someone pray for us and even better if that person is Mary!

Mary has God's ear and by saying the Rosary we ask her to keep us in her prayers. My challenge is for you to say the Rosary prayer at least once this week.

Final thought:

The next time you receive some news that frightens you - remember that God has a specific plan for all of us. Stay gracious, humble, and accepting of Him and you will continue to find favor in His eyes.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!