Wow, now that's a message to ponder on. And we are told Mary did just that.
The uneventful years would have passed quickly. You know the story of the family's visit to Jerusalem. They would have travelled with a large group of extended family. I suppose on the way home Mary and Joseph thought that Jesus was traveling with young cousins. They waited at home but he didn't come. The story of the lost child evokes memories in most of us. I once lost my six year old son in a crowd at the Easter Show in Auckland. I don't have to tell you how that felt. Children disappear in the bush, on camping trips, get lost in the supermarket, department store and at the races. Mary's child was lost in the city. Surely she would have wept and prayed as they rushed back looking for him.Imagine her relief when they found him in the
temple. But when he told them " don't you know I must be about my father's business?" how did she feel? I think she and Joseph would almost have forgotten what lay ahead of this child entrusted to their care. He had been their baby and was now growing up and reminding them that he was born for other things. When mothers feel hurt or rejected because your babies go flatting or daughters announce they are moving in with their boyfriends, when children tell you that they have their own lives to lead, Mary knows how you feel.About this time Mary's parents would have been elderly. The responsibility of caring for them would have been hers. Middle aged women who care for their elderly, you have a friend in Mary.
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