"Happy Birthday, Mary!"

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:1; 18 NIV).

Today is Mary’s birthday! Of course, you will not see me put into print the number of years we are celebrating - I often remark that, while I may be ugly, I’m certainly not stupid! However, suffice it to say that she and I have traveled quite a long road together so far. Some of that road has been uphill and steep; while other parts of it have been easy and pleasant. Because there has been so much of the road traveled, I confess I had a difficult time deciding what to write today. Then the Lord seemed to bring to mind another Mary in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene. I chose two verses from the larger context of the appearance of Jesus at the tomb to her to single out one defining moment in our journey.

Most of you have heard the story of how Mary and I met. I won’t detail that here. However, the key element in all of it was the manner in which my Mary conducted herself in respect to my relationship with Christ. While I was a member of a church, I was not a believer. Just like Mary Magdalene took the story of the resurrected Christ to the others, so my Mary took that message to me. I have had a long time to ponder what my life might have looked like if she had not been willing to be the instrument in God’s hands to show me the truth about who Jesus was and what He wanted to be in my life.

Of course, I know that the sovereignty of God is such that someone would have been led to me with that message, but I am convinced that she was God’s first choice and her obedience in that “small” detail has been the root of all the tremendous blessing we have experienced together. We have so much to be thankful about in our lives. All of that over the past forty years, our three wonderful children, their incredible spouses, and our amazing grandchildren all are direct results of that one moment of faithful obedience!

So, to close today’s devotional thought, first I want to say Happy Birthday, Mary! And second, I want to say Thank You for being faithful! Additionally, could I encourage you to be careful to be faithful even in those seemingly insignificant moments of sharing the risen Christ with others in ways that at the time don’t really seem very “evangelistic”? Especially for those of you who may be younger than I, please know that you never know which person you meet along your path may be that one person you will begin a lifelong journey with just as I did long ago!