“Then Mary said, ‘I am willing to be used of the Lord. Let it happen to me as you have said.'”  Luke 1:38  NLV

Living with Famous helps to keep me focused in the moment. Unlike a child who keeps his parents planning for his future, his education, and his career, Famous keeps me thinking about what he needs just then. If he needs a bath, bathe him. If he needs grooming, get the scissors. If he does not get enough supper, give him a second helping. I know that life will take care of the things to come.

I believe we have forgotten how to live our faith in the moment, to instantly be ready to hear God’s voice, no matter where we are and what we are doing. Two things may help to explain the problem. Number one — we do not expect it will happen. Either that, or we believe it will only happen at church or when some spectacular or miraculous event occurs in front of us to get our attention. Or number two — we really do not want it to happen because secretly we do not want God to mess up the neat little lives we have put together for ourselves.

Think back to Mary’s encounter with the angel, Gabriel. Certainly, she may have been surprised when he appeared. But back then people lived their faith doing the tasks that God asked them to do in that moment. Her only concern was doing the will of God. She did not ask what she would get in return. She only understood that God needed her. But then, did it change how she encountered the world? She still had to travel to Bethlehem (while she was in labor) like everyone else. She still had to find refuge in a barn rather than showing her “gold card” stamped by Gabriel himself. She still had to become a refugee in another country because she had been given no special powers to protect her Son. She only had the willingness to let God’s Spirit overtake her. If she had paused to consider the effort, the fear, the heartbreak that lay ahead of her, she would not have delivered the One who came to do his Father’s will for all of us.

In this very moment, let me understand what You require of me today, O Lord.

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