FreelySHEcould Podcast
The goal is to create a community of women who are encouraged, inspired, and empowered to live out their faith in the world.
FreelySHEcould Podcast
Episode 9: When Faith Requires Us to Trust Without Comprehension
What does it mean to trust when understanding seems impossibly out of reach? During this special Women's History Month episode, we dive deep into the remarkable story of Mary, mother of Jesus, and uncover a spiritual practice that revolutionized my own journey through grief.
The story seems simple on the surface—a twelve-year-old Jesus remains behind at the temple while his parents unknowingly travel home without him. But within this familiar narrative lies a profound revelation about faith. When Mary finally locates Jesus teaching among the temple scholars, his response puzzles her: "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" Scripture tells us plainly that Mary "did not understand," yet in the very next breath reveals that "she treasured all these things in her heart."
This tension between not understanding and still choosing to trust resonates deeply with my own recent experience of miscarriage. Through tears, I share how Mary's example of collecting moments with God—like precious seashells along a shore—provided a lifeline during my darkest days of grief. These "seashell moments" reminded me that painful circumstances don't represent God's final word or ultimate plan.
The greatest gift Mary offers modern women isn't perfect motherhood or unwavering courage (though she demonstrated both), but rather this practice of treasuring divine moments that sustain us when life makes no sense. Her ability to say "I don't understand, but I trust you" creates a pathway through confusion that doesn't deny our questions but anchors us through them.
Whether you're facing impossible questions, navigating grief, or simply feeling disconnected from God's plan, this episode offers gentle encouragement to collect your own faith tokens—those unmistakable moments with God that will sustain you when understanding seems far away. Join our community of women growing together in faith, and discover how Mary's ancient wisdom speaks powerfully to our modern struggles.
Hi everyone and welcome to the Freely she Could Podcast. This podcast is a platform where stories, advice, insight and experiences will be shared for women to grow in their relationship with Jesus and others. I'm your host, soli, and I'm excited to be here with you. On this podcast. We'll talk about faith, family, health, work and relationships, and so much more. The goal is to create a community of women who are encouraged, inspired and empowered to live out their faith in the world. I believe that when women come together and share their stories, we can make a difference. So, whether you're new here or you've been walking with Jesus for years, I hope you'll join us in this journey and I'm so glad you're with us. What's up, guys? Welcome back to another episode of Freely she Could. I'm so excited to be here with you.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, soli, and if you've been keeping up with our Freely she Could season one episodes, we've been going through so many different topics. We've been talking about freedom and faith, how to silent doubts, the power of love and forgiveness, how to even have a united partnership in friendship and also in, maybe, with your spouse or your future spouse, or how you would want to set expectations of future relationships that you get into. But this month is so special. If y'all don't know, march is Women's History Month. Woo, yeah, ladies, we've made such huge leaps in our society and also just in our faith. So I'm so excited to be able to dive into this month's podcast and I'm going to touch base on four specific women. That has really moved my heart and I hope it encourages yours as well. So we are going to talk about Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Speaker 1:So in Luke 2, 41 to 51. So just to give you some background, okay, we don't know a lot about Jesus and his preteen teenage life. We know of his birth and then it kind of goes a little quiet until he reaches around 11 or 12 for the festival of Passover every year, and then we don't hear again, really until he gets baptized. So there's just a lot of fragments that we are not able to fully know, but we can make some inferences. You could say so when I was reading this Luke 2, 41 to 51,.
Speaker 1:So Jesus went to the Passover festival in Jerusalem with his parents. They go every year. This is a status quo trip. They know what to expect, they know how much supplies they will need, they know even the people that they're going to be traveling with. So there was nothing that was not already planned or consistent from previous years. However, this year was very, very different. So they finished the festival, they returned home and Jesus it says in verse 43, stayed behind in Jerusalem. But Jesus, they were unaware. So Mary and Joseph, the mother and father, were unaware that Jesus was not with them. Okay, remember, they've been doing this for every year. So if he's 12, they've been doing this for 11 years, and this was the time that they did not notice he was not with them.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I think, first off, it's easy to be like oh well, you know, they're parents. They should, of course, of course, absolutely. But also, at the same time, we don't know the context of like how busy it must have been or how crowded, or maybe they saw him and he was there like a home alone episode, where they're at the airport and then they think that he's with them and then they get to wherever their destination was and was like, oh my goodness, where is this kid of ours? So, but the part that I love that really, really impacted me was all the way down to verse 49 to 51. And so, even in 48, when his parents saw him, they were astonished. He was teaching in the temple courts. He was sitting among teachers, listening and asking them questions, and everyone was amazed by his understanding and his answers. We're seeing Jesus in his divinity, even in his humanness, in his youth. And in 48 says son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. I am yet to be a mother, but I can just imagine the anxiety and all the possibly intrusive thoughts of like what could possibly happen to your kid in a crowded festival situation, and I'm sure just the anxiety she must have felt. And Jesus responds in verse 49. Why were you searching for me, he asked. Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house for 50, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 51. Then he went to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them, but his mother treasured all these things in her heart. Holy moly, what a packed couple of verses.
Speaker 1:When I was just thinking about the episode for the month of March and I was just praying about these four women that I'm going to touch and talk about, when I was thinking of Mary, mother of Jesus, the word trust just came up in my mind, because it's not even in this verse in particular. But from the moment that the angel had visited her and said listen, you're going to be giving birth to the Messiah through the Holy Spirit, she was like, okay, all right, I don't understand, but I'm going to dive in, okay. Then all throughout those years, those 11, 12 years until we get to this temple scenario, she's walked her life, I'm sure, in the back of her mind, thinking, oh my gosh, this kid is the Messiah. Like, if he gets a cut, like should I just wrap him in bubble wrap? I don't know, I feel like I would be thinking those things because it feels so heavy of a call. Yet Mary was so trusting of the plans that God had for her.
Speaker 1:Now, when we get to 49, jesus responds didn't you know I had to be in my father's house? Yes, in a way I think he was reminding them. I don't want to say he was being harsh in his tone. I think he was just stating the fact. I think he was just being very forthcoming and just saying this is where I was meant to be. And and Mary though, even though it said in verse 50, did not understand. That doesn't mean she lacked trust. And I think that is where I know I have, and maybe some of you have gotten mixed up in this, because if I don't understand, then can I trust? But sometimes you don't need to understand and you can just choose to trust. It's a choice.
Speaker 1:And so in 51, when it says but his mother, mary, treasured all these things in her heart. I love that because it means that she was being reminded and collecting. I think of them like little seashells or along the shore, like a like just a memory token of moments like this to remember. Okay, right, he is the Messiah, he is the son of God, he is my child, but he's not mine. He is the Lord's, he is God's and I have to trust that the plan God has for him and what's going to happen in his life. I have to trust that God is good, even when I don't understand.
Speaker 1:And then, even when you fast forward to Mary, seeing her son on the cross and just seeing the magnitude of grief and just heartache and heartbreak she must feel, and to still say but God, I don't understand, but I trust you, what would that look like for us in our life, whatever we may be going through, god, I do not understand, but I trust you. I don't like it, but I trust you. You know this month and it's, and also then, how do we move forward with faith and expectancy? And so when I went through this in 2024, I remember just thinking God, what I don't understand, what happened? Was it me?
Speaker 1:I had all these questions and then, on top of it, being a follower of Christ, I just wasn't sure if I wanted to hear all these bible verses at me.
Speaker 1:But God reminded me that what Mary did, treasuring things in her heart, so that when situations like that had happened, I was able to look back at my seashells, I had collected and remind myself wait, this is not something God would have wanted for me. This is not God's plan or final word in my life, for me. And that's not to deny the grief, it is not to deny what has occurred, but it's to say but God, I still trust you, even when I do not understand, and treasuring every moment, the big and the small moments with the Lord, so that when there is a time of anxiety and feeling overwhelmed, or maybe you're feeling cornered or trapped, to remember, but God, he always provides a doorway, he always provides freedom and hope. I hope this encourages you and I will definitely do more sharing as we go into the different episodes of this month with my process, with this miscarriage in 2024. But thank you so much for joining Freely. She Could and we'll see you next week.