Something strange happened to Mary.

We all hear the story about Jesus’ birth each year, and we celebrate the coming birth of the Christ child, the Son of God, Emmanuel. We sing songs of hope, love, and joy. We think good thoughts and get ready to celebrate with family and friends, with candlelight and cookies.

We feel warm and good inside, extra magnanimous, extra kind. At least some of us do.

But long, long ago, before the celebration, God put Mary into an uncompromising position.

This happens to us too –often before we discover something new about ourselves, make significant changes in our lives, or change our perspective about the circumstances we find ourselves in.

Although it might seem wonderful to simply slip easily into monumental life transitions or to round the turning points in our l…