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"Don't be afraid, Mary,"
the angel told her, 
"for you have found favor with God!"
Luke 1:30 NLT
"Don't be afraid" is not a command, but an invitation.
An invitation to connection.
An invitation to step closer.
An invitation towards something unknown, mystery, opportunity.
God, The Creator, The Unlimited, Yahweh, is opening the way to connect, and Mary did  not need to be afraid.
She wasn't told to change, tidy up, clean up, fix up, put right, anything, just to put down her fear.
It's like something has shifted in the universe, something new is happening, and we have no need to be afraid.
Come as you are.
Redemption is here.
The Angel had something to say to Mary, and if her fear got in the way, she would not have heard it. 
What does this story invite us to put down that is a barrier to hearing from our God?
What could He be inviting us towards that we can't "hear" because we're holding on to something?
What is that thing?
Mary wasn't commanded, she was invited to put down her fear...another redemptive strand in this Big Story we find ourselves in...
#advent
#Christmas 
#redemptivestrands #GodsLoveisEnough #weareBeloved

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