This morning my Bible reading included the time when Jesus was separated from His parents for three days as they traveled back to Nazareth after the Passover.

Jesus was 12 years old and he had chosen to stay in Jerusalem without telling His mom and dad.

Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for three days before finding Him in the Temple sitting and talking with the religious teachers.

The Bible doesn’t say a lot about those three days.

But this morning as I was reading, I was wondering what those three days must have been like for Mary and Joseph.

Three long days…….

that included three long nights.

I’m just thinking that Mary and Joseph had to be feeling a lot of anxiety and fear.

To be chosen as the parents of the Son of God and then to lose Him……….

I’m wondering this morning if there was any significance to the three day time period.

The Bible says that after they found Jesus they returned to Nazareth and Mary “stored up all these things in her heart.”

I have to believe that after Jesus’ death on the cross, Mary reflected on all the memories with her son and this particular memory must have come back into her mind.

Three days without her Son.

Not understanding where He could be.

Afraid.

Confused.

Defeated.

Sad.

We don’t really know a lot about Mary’s emotional side throughout the Bible, but we do know this.

She trusted God.

And I’m just thinking that this little story of Jesus’ separation from his mom and dad at the age of 12 had more than one purpose, and one of them might have been to help Mary make it through the time between Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I can almost hear her tearfully praying, “Lord, I trusted you when my Son was 12 and I couldn’t find Him.  He was with you all along.  I’m trusting you again even though it’s hard.”

After I read the Bible this morning, I opened my computer to write to all of you.

My Facebook page was still open from yesterday, and I had received a message from my dear friend Linda Sparks.

As I read her words and then watched the video she had sent, tears ran down my eyes.

I believe the song she sent to me this morning is the song all grieving and broken moms, including Mary, sing every day.

I believe it’s also the song that anyone sings who is trying to trust God and make it in this world, especially when they are walking in a valley.

I wanted to share it with you today.