DOZ Issue 24 October 2017 | Página 9

She didn’t sit at home waiting for Elizabeth to come and pay homage. As the saviour’s mother, Elizabeth should have made the trip to visit Mary. So, when Mary travelled to see her, it was a display of humility. cause. Mary endured shame to birth the saviour of the world. Many did not understand the concept of her getting pregnant and put it down to fornication. Her reputation was tarnished so that the world could be saved. 5. Great women know the power of silence. 5 They are doers and not talkers. Mary did not talk a lot. She did not go all over the village announcing that she had seen an angel and was pregnant with the saviour of the world. When the wise men visited her and the young child, she considered their words in silence. She did not respond to their comments. You don’t have to have an answer for everyone that has something to say to you. Stop talking and start doing. Everytime you talk, you expend your energy, and you are unable to take action. 9. Great women get involved in a cause bigger 9 than themselves. Mary’s consent to become a vessel through which the Messiah of the world would be born was a cause bigger than her and one which would not just benefit her and those close to her but the entire world. If all you strive for is for your benefit or the benefit of those closest to you, greatness is still far from you. 6. Great women are deep thinkers. Mary 6 considered things in her heart. She thought deeply about everything that happened to her, from the moment, the angel greeted her. You need to cultivate the habit of thinking. Those who think are never stranded, they always know what to do, and they succeed at what they do. 7 7. Great women make sacrifices. When Mary decided to do God’s will, she was making a huge sacrifice. She was sacrificing her marriage to Joseph and of course her reputation. 8. 8 Great women are 10 willing to serve. Mary could have refused the assignment God was giving her, but she did not. She wanted to serve. She said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord let it be done to me as He wills” (paraphrased). She was willing to serve, and service led to her greatness. Today, Mary has as many followers as Jesus Himself. It came to her on the platform of service. Who are you serving? Great women serve and small women wait to be served. 11 Great women do not allow fear to stop them. Mary was about to do something that no one before her had done. Naturally, she would have been afraid; afraid of what people would say, afraid of how they would view her going forward, afraid that she would be stoned to death, afraid that Joseph would put her away. But she let none of her fears stop her and yielded herself an instrument in bringing forth the saviour of the world. Great women endure hardship for a great DOZ Magazine October 2017 9 «