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Mary, the mother of Jesus, probably had a different plan for her life than the one God had for her. Of course, today we look at her as someone who was incredibly blessed by God, chosen specifically to bear and protect the Son of God during His early years. And that’s true; Mary was blessed! On the other hand, there she was, a woman engaged to be married and yet somehow pregnant. Can you imagine the stares and whispers she must have put up with? To know that at any point when she walked down the street, those she had grown up with and known all her life would now point and gossip about how exactly Mary had gotten herself into this situation. And yet, we read that in hearing the news, Mary immediately began to rejoice.

In the back of her mind somewhere, she probably knew that her future was now completely different than what she had thought. Instead of living as a simple wife to the village carpenter, she now found herself central to a prophecy she could barely hope for.

Think of your life today—does it look exactly the way you thought it would? When you think back to pivotal decisions where you felt God calling you in a certain direction, do you remember the worry you felt, or did you rejoice in knowing you were doing exactly what God wanted for your life?