Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday December 17 , 2009

This piece first appeared in Larry Lilly's Letter December 20, 1999. It is as up to date as tomorrow's news.

A few years ago one of our faithful partners and a dear friend, the late Clarice Jones sent an interesting article to me from St. Matthews Sunday Sermons. It contained a psychologist's view of the trials of Mary.

Using the Thomas Holmes stress indicator the article reaches the following conclusions about the pressure of being chosen placed on Mary. Pregnancy 45 points
Change In living conditions 25 points
Marriage to Joseph 50 points
No reservation at the inn 35 points
Change in financial situation 40 points
Birth of a child 35 points
Change of sleeping habits 15 points
Change in eating habits 15 points
Uninvited guests 50 points=
310 total stress points. WOW

Mary's accumulated 310 points qualifies her for serious illness, perhaps even death. Dr. Holmes says 200 stress points usually cause illness. It's interesting to observe how people handle stress. CNN had a piece about the importance of controlling stress in conquering cancer. Holmes table for measuring stress recommends 100 points for the death of a loved one. He allows 100 points for going to prison. Divorce also carries a hefty 100 points.

I talked with a man who was "going through" it in spades. When I applied the "Holmes" formula I found the poor soul had a total of 1135 points. In spite of this huge stress index he kept on trucking. He knew what Mary knew.

When God is working on something that includes your participation, He is also working in you to make you strong enough to do His will. In Mary's case the bringing of Jesus into this world of sin and woe. Believing that life and the events thereof have a godly purpose gives you strength greater than your stress. Praise the Lord.

Luke 1:31 "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

Larry Lilly Copyright 1999 Use with credit

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