Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:51-52

    Unlike mothers in Biblical times, I have photographs and home videos to pull out when I want to take a walk down memory lane. I have Skype and Instagram and FaceTime. But there’s something about those “snapshots” that are embedded in the heart — they are such treasures.

   Mary held her remembrances “dear, deep within her heart”. Scripture records two instances of Mary pondering. The first was at Jesus’ birth, as she watched shepherds bow to worship her newborn son (Luke 2:19).  Years later, when Luke was gathering information for his gospel, Mary was able to go deep into her heart to retrieve memories of that wondrous night in Bethlehem.

   Her second instance of pondering happened twelve years later when she and Joseph finally found Jesus in the temple after a frantic three day search (Luke 2:51). They were on their 70 mile return trip from celebrating Passover in Jerusalem, when Mary said to Joseph, “I thought he was with you” and Joseph said to Mary, “I thought he was with you.” They had lost God’s Son. How would they explain this to God?   

   There must have been many more treasures in Mary’s heart as she watched the Son of God grow up in their family. Jesus didn’t leave home until he was 30 years old, possibly taking care of his mother after the death of Joseph. Jesus loved his mom and grew in wisdom and stature because of her tender care.

  Lord, there are so many things I wonder about Jesus’ early years, when he was at home with his parents and siblings. Thank You for His example of obedience to His parents. Help me to grow as He did, in favor with God and people.