I never gave much thought to Mary’s story until becoming a mother. She often felt like a tertiary character – important in fulfilling the prophecy of a virgin birth, just not a main character.

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But Mary’s story is bigger than I ever realized.  

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Mary understood a part of parenthood no one ever talks about – the pain of the unknown and the heartache of watching her child suffer. Luke 1:35 says she knew her son would be called the Son of God, but I doubt she realized in those early moments of motherhood what that would mean as he grew. His purpose on Earth didn’t lend itself to an easy life, and nothing about watching that unfold could have been easy for her.  

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No one and nothing can prepare you to watch your child hurting and suffering when you are powerless to intervene, and I never gave Mary enough credit for how much faith it took for her to trust God with this call on her life.  

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God had been preparing her all along for what she would need in the most difficult moments of her calling. I’m sure His faithfulness throughout her life was part of what she pondered in her heart as she trusted God in the journey of mothering Jesus.  

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Young and pregnant, she likely faced hurtful gossip, but I imagine God used that experience to teach her how to withstand false accusations – a trait she’d need when Jewish religious leaders hurled accusations of blasphemy against her child. Fleeing Herod and living in Egypt taught her what it felt like to be a stranger in a foreign land. I imagine she needed to call upon that bravery as she stood among the masses chanting, “Crucify Him” about her firstborn son.  

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I’ve often heard it said that “your calling will break you,” and the older I get, the more I believe that’s true. The anguish Mary must’ve felt in being helpless to take the pain of Jesus’ suffering must have broken her in ways we don’t often think about. Watching the brutality of her son’s last hours on Earth was undoubtedly the most difficult thing she ever endured.  

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I imagine memories of rocking her baby to sleep, of watching him take his first steps, or of learning carpentry with Joseph played through her mind as an agonizing backtrack to the pain she couldn’t take from him in his last moments. This was God’s plan in sending Jesus to Earth, but Mary was still his mother, and I have no doubt she carried the heartbreak of being unable to protect her son from the road he had to walk. Powerless to take her son from his purpose yet called to walk a path many of us can’t even begin to imagine. And still, she trusted.  

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In John 19:26-27, Jesus, as both Son of God and son of Mary, reaches into his mother’s pain to offer grace in her life’s most difficult moment. Just five verses before he took his final breath, Jesus took time to care for Mary and ensure she wouldn’t be alone after his death.  

Mary could trust God in her calling because he so perfectly cared for her. We don’t give enough credit to Mary’s journey. Yes, it was an honor to be the mother of Jesus, but it required so much sacrifice and heartache.  

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When you begin to walk in your calling, it won’t be easy, but it will be worth it. God’s call on your life will require sacrifice, difficulty, and trust. It will also bring great joy, peace, and everlasting hope. I would encourage you to follow Mary’s example and spend time pondering the faithfulness of God in your life. Make a list and put it somewhere visible. When you struggle to trust God, go back over this record of faithfulness, and remind yourself that you, like Mary, are following a God worth trusting.