Mary was favored by God for the important task of giving birth to, loving, and nurturing Jesus. And along with her husband, Joseph, Mary allowed Jesus to increase in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and other people (Luke 2:52).

Three acts of Jesus’ mother Mary stand out as crucial to a healthy life –

• First, she humbly believed God, even in the face of an outrageous promise that she would conceive a child while remaining a virgin (Luke 1:30).
• Second, as she watched the boy Jesus grow up, she “treasured” special moments in her heart (Luke 2:19,51).
• Third, when things happened that she didn’t understand, she let them go into God’s will (Luke 1:35-38;2:41 – 52).

How often we can stumble in all three areas. God has offered us many promises in…