BY DAWN REED

Many times in the Bible, God showed up on ordinary days. Moses was a shepherd when he saw the burning bush. David was also tending sheep the day the prophet Samuel came to his house. Gideon was secretly threshing wheat, and Elisha was plowing a field when their lives changed forever.

It was on another perfectly ordinary day over 2,000 years ago that an angel of the Lord divinely interrupted the simple life of a young girl. The angel’s name was Gabriel; the girl was Mary. It happened in a town called Nazareth. (The true story is told in Luke 1 and 2.)

God had chosen Mary for something very special… exciting… and terrifying. She would be the mother of the promised Messiah. She was the one the prophets and preachers had talked about for hundreds of years.

Mary was a teenager, engaged to be married to a fine man named Joseph. She could picture it all: they would have a home, a good life and many children. She had a wedding planned, NOT an unexpected, life-changing, world-shaking calling. We know Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.” Did Mary know that, too?

I carry Bible verses in my pocket. Did Mary tuck the words of Gabriel in her tunic? Did she whisper them to herself during trying times? Did she yell them when she was alone? They were good words to remember in Nazareth, Bethlehem, Egypt, and all the other places she would go: “The Lord is with you… Do not be afraid… Nothing is impossible with God.”

I am not the angel Gabriel, but I have special and exciting news for you: GOD HAS ALSO CHOSEN YOU FOR SOMETHING IMPORTANT. Mary would carry the Savior of the world in her belly, but WE carry the Savior of the world in our hearts, not to keep, but to share.

You may not feel worthy or equipped. That is OK. God is famous for using unlikelies. He equips those He calls. Mary might not have seemed like an obvious choice either. She was young, poor and female – three reasons others might overlook her. You may have three strikes against you, too. God isn’t scared of your past or your present condition. God saw what was in Mary’s heart, what she was capable of. The same is true for us.

In the early 90s, a mission team of college students came to our church. They led services during the weekend. I vividly remember that Sunday night, feeling the Lord stirring my heart and calling me to be a missionary.

Then I was immediately disheartened thinking all missionaries were single and served in Africa. Here I was, married with two children, living in eastern Kentucky. There was no mission for me. Oh, how wrong I was! I did not realize that as a follower of Christ, I was on mission every single day, at home, at work and in my community.

Just as He did with Mary, God planted us exactly where we need to be. Her place was Nazareth; mine is here in the mountains. He gives each of us gifts, talents, passions, and personalities that can be used to share the Good News.

We are ALL called. We are ALL on mission. God invites us to work with Him. Right, we are to reach our family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. And people who are unseen by others. We can pray and ask God to show us where He is leading; where we are to go and to whom we should go. Oh, He will. And He will give us the courage to do it.

When Mary heard the words of Gabriel – the unexpected calling, she had a choice. She fully surrendered to God’s plan. Let us follow her example.