Holy assignments carry the likelihood of scars and bruises. No one knew this better than Mary, the mother of Jesus. While some may glorify her life, I can’t help but think of the pain that she endured as a mother. Maybe now that I’m older with my own children, I can sympathize with the consecrated contradiction that flowed in and out of her life.

From the moment the angel messenger spoke the holy words about Mary’s future as the mother of the Savior of the world, her life became a poignant mix of blessing and pain. Just as oil and water can be poured together, but never fully become a new liquid, Mary carried both. She was the mother of the Savior of the world and an outcast who became pregnant without being married. She experienced the joy of obedience to the Lord and had to wonder what her betrothed, Joseph, would say about her news. Would he divorce her? Would he publicly shame her? Mary had a front row seat to Jesus’s miracles and a front row seat to the rejection that fell on him as he ministered. And what mother enjoys seeing her child rejected? She was fully present in all the pain and joy of birthing a child from her young body and fully present in the gruesome crucifixion of the same baby she lovingly swaddled 33 years prior. The blessings in Mary’s life flowed hand in hand with the bruises.

A mentor whispered to me several years ago, “no one gets through this life unscathed.” I didn’t much like her words of wisdom. They fell on ears that didn’t want to receive the reality of this fallen world. But I look at Mary and understand a little more about why this happens. I understand that even though a path is ordained and anointed by the Lord, the obedience that comes with walking it carries the risk of being battered by it.

But in the same breath, the holy assignment is worth the scars. Who is our true witness to this paradigm? The man of sorrows, Mary’s boy child, the savior of the world. There is no more worshipful experience than bringing the sacrifice of praise to the feet of the one who was bruised for you. He was truly despised, rejected and acquainted with grief. He understood the assignment. Because He did, you can, too. You can walk where blessings and bruises flow together, standing firm, knowing that the Lord was pleased to bruise the man of sorrows because it brought righteousness to His people. (Isaiah 53:1-12)

Your holy assignment will likely bring bruises to you, too. Blessings will flow side by side next to pain. It will be messy. It will be exhilarating. It will be completely worth it all.