When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.  John 19:26-27

I have wondered many times how Mary, the mother of Jesus, might have felt to face so many difficult circumstances becoming the mother of Emmanuel, God with us.

And as a mother myself, it is deeply humbling to think about how she trusted the plan of God without interference through it all.

Mary as a teenager was visited by an angel informing her she would be the mother of the Savior, the Messiah. For a young woman in her time, that represented hardship being a single mother with even the potential consequence of being stoned.

Mary also had to experience the fear of losing her fiancé Joseph. Would he believe that she had never been in a relationship with another man? Would he want to raise a child that was not his?

Mary decided to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was married to Zechariah, who herself was pregnant with John the Baptist. She needed to confide in someone closer to her, someone that knew her and believed her. Another woman who God graciously placed in her path as a vessel of another miracle. Another woman who knew what it was to walk in her steps before her.

Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. She, the baby Jesus, and Joseph had to escape to Egypt since Herod had placed an order to kill all boys two-years-old and younger. They felt relieved that the angel had given them God’s instructions about where to go, and they remained obedient.

Mary studied the Torah and the Prophets with Jesus while He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and all the people (Luke 2:52).

I think that one of the hardest issues Mary had to go through was experiencing the suffering of Jesus, and seeing Him die on the cross, the final stage of His life. Experiencing the death of her Son -- was that what He came for? I cannot begin to imagine what that might feel like.

I have always deeply respected the song "Mary, Did You Know?" written by Buddy Greene. It is profound to contemplate: could Mary have known that when she kissed her son, she was kissing the face of God? Did Mary understand that the baby she delivered would soon deliver her and humanity? Did Mary realize that when He cured lepers, restored the sight of the blind, delivered the people possessed by demons, healed human beings with maladies, and raised someone from the dead, that her Son, was The Great I AM?

After Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, maybe Mary thought that this was His time to rule the world, but instead she saw Him die on the cross just days later. It’s even harder for me to imagine the joy and surprise for Mary when she found out that Jesus was in fact alive on the third day after His death. Her Son was alive! In our own seasons of difficulty, grief, or uncertainty about God's plans, may we remain faithful to God and also connected to the support system He has surrounded us with (Jn. 19:25-27). And as a result, like Mary, we'll continue to witness God's miracles and experience the joy of knowing the risen Messiah, Emmanuel, the Great I AM!!!