We can take a clue from Mary. Even when her whole world world seemed to turn up side down and her future was fuzzy, she still trusted God. (she new the" big picture was crystal clear to God, the Master Artist.) If you ever visit an art gallery, try this "big picture"experiment. Find a painting you like , then stand really close to it. you'll see nothing but big , confusing blobs of paint. At such a close distance, the art work will look like one gigantic, horrible mistake. But as you step back from the image you'll suddenly discover how everything fits together and the confusion blobs actually add to the beauty. Our lives can be the same way. We can be so close to our problems, so involved with them, that we can't see the perfect masterpiece God is creating. We may not understand why we have to put up with big blobs of confusion in our lives, We may kick and scream a lot. We may even accuse God of making a terrible mistake. But He is the Master Artist. He is the one who stands back and sees the whole picture. He knows exactly what is needed to turn us into beautiful works of art. God doesn't make any mistakes in His creations. Its safe to believe that Mary is in her early to mid teens since that's the usual marring age in her culture. So it is to this young woman that Gabriel makes the greatest birth announcement in history. God is paying an extended visit to mankind. Mary is told to name her baby Jesus, which means "the Lord is salvation" in Hebrew. Gabriel also promises her Jesus will be God's Son, as well as the Messiah. and His kingdom will last forever! Mary doesn't doubt or even ask for a sign as proof. Instead , she simply wants to know "How will this be?"Gabriel explains, and then he gives her a special sign : Elizabeth , her aging relative who couldn't have children is already pregnant! Mary response is hard to believe. Being an unwed mother didn't help a woman's popularity's too much in those days. And engagements (Mary is engagement to Joseph) were considered much more important than today. They lasted a year and could only be broken with a divorce. Any fooling around on Mary's part would have been considered adultery. So there is the possibly that Joseph will divorce her, and according to the Mosaic law, she could also face the death penalty (see Deuteronomy 22: 23,24). Mary has good cause to be a bit nervous. But instead of looking at all the possible life-shattering dangers, Mary keeps her eyes fixed on God's faithful love and, in a sense, simply says "yes Lord, I'll trust you,"
