“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” — Luke 2:19

There is a sacred stillness woven into this single verse…a pause in the middle of heaven breaking into earth. Angels have split the night sky. Shepherds are breathless with their story. A young mother lies in the quiet aftermath of giving birth to the Messiah.

And Scripture doesn’t say Mary shouted, questioned, explained, or tried to make sense of the moment.

It says she treasured.

It says she pondered.

She let the weight of it all settle deep into her soul.

In a world like ours…loud, fast, demanding, and constantly in motion…Mary’s response feels almost impossible… and yet more necessary than ever.

We, too, are women carrying heavy and holy things.

We carry families, careers, emotional labor, unseen battles, whispered prayers, and expectations that stretch across every corner of our lives.

We carry the ache of things we’ve lost… and the hope of things not yet born.

We carry moments we don’t know how to put into words, and wounds we don’t feel ready to speak aloud.

And in a generation where everything is recorded, shared, posted, and analyzed, Mary’s quiet posture stands in sharp contrast.

She didn’t run to explain.

She didn’t need to validate her experience.

She didn’t rush to tell the world what God was doing.

She honored the moment by holding it close.

Today’s world tells us to broadcast everything…our opinions, our struggles, our victories, our every passing thought. But some moments aren’t meant to be distributed…they are meant to be digested.

Mary teaches us that some of the most important things God does in us will not be loud, public, or easily explained.

Some things grow in the quiet places.

Some things need time.

Some things need to be treasured before they can be shared.

And sometimes, the deepest work God is doing in your heart is the very thing others may never fully understand.

Pondering Is Not Passive. It Is Holy Work

•To ponder is not to overthink.

•It is not to worry.

•It is not to rehearse the worst outcomes or fear the unknown.

•To ponder, biblically, means to hold something before God and let Him reveal the layers, the meaning, the timing, the purpose.

•It is saying:

“Lord, I don’t want to rush this.

•I don’t want to miss You in this.

Help me see what You are saying beneath the surface.”

•Pondering is a slow, sacred way of letting God shape your understanding before the world shapes your reaction.

Every woman is holding something right now:

A season that feels heavier than you can admit. A prayer that keeps resurfacing in the stillness of night. A longing that sits deep in your bones. A blessing you can’t quite explain. A transition you didn’t ask for. A dream that scares you because it’s bigger than you. A miracle still in its “manger stage,” small and fragile and easily overlooked.

These things aren’t random.

They aren’t wasted.

They aren’t unnoticed by God.

They are treasures…holy pieces of a story He is writing in you.

And like Mary, you may not understand the fullness of what God is doing yet… but you can honor it by holding it close and letting Him speak to it in His time.

This verse invites us to slow down and let the Holy Spirit meet us in the places we carry the most.

To stop trying to manage every outcome.

To stop feeling pressure to explain every feeling.

To stop rushing past the moments that deserve reflection.

To stop letting the world steal what God meant to shape in quiet places.

Mary teaches us that pondering is part of the miracle.

Treasuring is part of the transformation.

Stillness is part of the story.

So as you walk through this season…whatever your season looks like…lean into the gentle whisper of God:

“Daughter, treasure this. Bring it to Me. Let Me show you what your heart cannot yet see.”

The God who entrusted Mary with the Savior is the same God who is weaving purpose into the things you’re holding today.

Let Him sit with you in the mysteries.

Let Him steady you in the unknowns.

Let Him remind you that even in the quiet, He is working…and nothing treasured in His presence is ever wasted.