Treasure Up These Things

Soon after Mary gave birth to Jesus and heard about the Divine birth announcement from the shepherds, scripture says “she treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” What a beautiful response to the coming Messiah, to the reality of Emmanuel, God with Us. This treasuring and pondering feels like worship, prayer, or simply a tender gathering and holding of all the Divine goodness in this moment in time.

I believe such a practice trains our hearts and minds in the ways of God and in the ways of peace, if we are only still enough to pay attention, to be aware of how the Divine indwells our human reality. Today we might call this pondering and holding an awareness, or mindfulness, or attention to the holy presence within our own lives.

But I also know that such attention doesn’t just happen. It calls us to intentional acts of turning our hearts toward God. That’s the practice I will be sharing with those who are joining me for the end-of-the-year Still Waters retreat on Wednesday December 29th. What a perfect time to ponder the coming of Jesus, your Advent experience, and all that is to come in the new year.

This prayerful pause (just a brief 2-and-a-half hours), invites us to contemplate all that the past year has revealed to us about ourselves, about the Divine within us, and about those we’ve encountered along the way. Click here to read more and register for the mini-retreat (via Zoom).