a bit of forethought

I really never give God enough credit.  I live my life as if He might forget me one of these days.  I know better, I really do.  I have read and heard and seen and experienced enough to know that God is not going to forget me, not even in little ways.  However, there is a disconnect somewhere between my brain and heart.  

Somewhere between my brain and my heart a lot of little pieces of truth about who God is just get lost and thus are never lived out in my life.  I am reading a book called "Jesus, the One and Only" by Beth Moore.  I'm at the beginning, the part where Gabriel tells Mary she's going to have a baby and He will be the Savior.  (Luke 1:26-56)  The author points out a little something that I have neve thought about before.

Picture this, Mary is about thirteen, engaged, and a virgin.  Her pregnancy with the coming Messiah will be a bit tricky to explain; no one's going to believe for a second that she's still a virgin - not even her own parents.  Back then this was a huge deal; Mary is probably going to be dumped by her fiancé and is now a potential candidate for stoning.  These facts have always left me in awe of Mary's bravery and her willingness to obey God.

Now in this turmoil look at verse 36.  God could've had John the Baptist born into any family.  God chose Mary's older cousin Elizabeth.  God gave Mary someone who would understand her pregnancy, someone she could talk to without being condemned, one friend to defend her and back up her story.  I never before realized how much Mary would need a friend, someone to tell her parents to believe her story.  God didn't just commission Mary to carry baby Jesus, He also took care of all the details.

I know God takes care of details, but I've never really thought of Him as someone who takes care of "unimportant" things like relationships.  I tend to expect Him to leave me alone in that area.  A new truth for the mind, but can it break through to my heart?