Book 11: Unafraid: Mary
Book 11, HERE WE GO! I hope you all add a lovely Thanksgiving and were able to celebrate with friends and family. This month’s book was titled Unafraid: Mary by Francine Rivers (check out part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 if you missed them) and it is one of the five books in Francine’s A Lineage of Grace series. In these reviews, I share a bit about each of these books, my thoughts, how many stars I’d give it (actually it is how many Jericho’s as I’m using his cute face in place of stars. ;) ), and what other books I've read that month. This is the perfect book to read as we are leading up to the celebration of Christmas. If you’re looking for a fresh perspective on the birth of Jesus, go read this book!
Title: Unafraid: Mary
Author: Francine Rivers
Genre: Historical-Fiction | Christian
Page Count: 205
Short Synopsis: This short book is one of five stories told from the perspective of a Biblical woman. The Author gathers as much factual information as she can about the woman and the culture and adds fictional details, consistent with the time period, to bring the story to life. Unafraid focuses on the story of Mary giving birth to The Savior of The World; Jesus.
My Thoughts: I loved reading this story from Mary's perspective because it opened my eyes to things I have never thought of before. It showed me that the majority of people probably didn't believe Mary when she insisted that she was pregnant with The Messiah. Instead they probably thought she was trying to hide her infidelity by making up this grandiose story. Joseph was even upset and worried that people would think they were together before marriage. Even after the birth, it is likely that her other children didn't even believe her when she claimed that Jesus was the Messiah that was prophesied about, despite the stark differences in Jesus' obedience and the others' disobedience.
I didn’t realize that Mary could have said no to the angel that told her she would conceive the Messiah. We also have a choice when God asks us to do something. If we say no, He will find someone else to fulfill his purposes and we are missing out on all the goodness that comes with obeying the Lord. He might also ask us a second or third time to follow His guidance, but there could also be consequences. Delayed obedience is still disobedience. What trouble could we avoid if we obeyed God the first time like Mary did?
“Let the name Mary remind us to obey without fear.”
I also found it interesting that when Mary visited Elizabeth before either of them gave birth. John, inside Elizabeth’s womb, recognized that Jesus was inside Mary’s womb. He made this evident by jumping. Even before the birth of The Savior, (unborn) baby John knew that Jesus would be someone important.
“Maybe God chose a peasant girl to be his mother and a carpenter to be his earthly father because the Messiah is meant for all our people, not just those who dwell in the fine houses of the provinces or the palaces of Jerusalem.”
As I am preparing for my own journey through childbirth, this account is consistent with what I’ve learned about old practices. Did you know that it was customary for men to not attend the birth? Mary birthed Jesus all on her own and this book showed me just how strong women had to be back then. Usually the woman had a midwife and/or their female relatives around to help assist during the birth, but Mary had no one but her reliance on God and the encouragement that this baby was to be the Messiah.
I love the gospel story. It starts with a miracle birth, shows the journey that Christ went through, both the good and the bad, and in the end, Jesus made a way for us to spend eternal life with Him. The same goes for human life. We all start through birth, which I believe is a miraculous process; we transition through the hills and valleys of human life; and in the end, because our hope is in Jesus, we get to spend eternal life with Him!
My Rating:
Other Books I Read in November: A Prom to Remember | After the End | The Vaccine Book | The List | Your Pregnancy and Birth | Stay Sweet | The Last Boy and Girl in the World | Severance | Five Days at Memorial
