What About the Hard to Believe Things?

I love the scripture and I love the things that I find promised in it, but every so often it seems to make a claim that, for the life of me, I find hard to swallow.  After all, I don't believe that God called me to crucify my brain or to check it into the closet the day I decided to follow Jesus.  Quite the contrary, I think He wanted me to start using it even more.  So when things come along that just don't make sense to me what am I supposed to do?  Some would suggest that I might want to develop a rationale about those things.  Others would suggest that if I did more critical analysis of scripture my problems would be resolved.  Rather than rationalize or justify my problems away I would rather take the lead of one whose life was turned upside down by the proclamations of angels and prophets, the birth of an unplanned child and strange visits from shepherds and the like.  I am speaking of Mary the mother of Jesus.  How did she respond?  Luke reports simply that "She treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)  I don't always need to understand.  Nor do I need to be able to justify or rationalize.  The word of God is good for pondering and the promises of God are good for treasuring.