“You have God’s favor,
I can see it as you speak.”
My throat tightens,
And I blink back tears,
Maintaining my composure
Across the table
From these two men.
“Greetings,
You who are highly favored.”
Mary,
Teen mom,
Unwed,
Nazarene girl.
Divorce looms,
Love hangs by a thread,
The disgrace of the family
Demanding consideration
And overshadowing
Hope.
For a life built together,
Dreams of the future.
And it all lay before them,
A book, empty lines,
Waiting to be filled,
Where anything was possible.
But the impossible,
Greater than anything,
They’d ever dare imagine.
Yet,
Threatening all they’d ever
Hoped for,
Growing bigger inside of her
By the day.
Faithfully, they both
Surrender their hope,
For His.
Confined to the womb,
Yet, stretching to all humanity,
For all time.
Simple dreams,
Exchanged for this
Inconvenient,
Heartbreaking,
Favor.
The biggest burden
One could bear,
The biggest blessing,
One could carry.
And favor,
A gift given
By our Good Father,
But demands the same of us.