Luke 1:38

And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

This is the record of Mary's acceptance of God's promise. "Handmaid" as rendered here is from a Greek term that means bondservant, or slave. It is certain that Mary's acceptance was taken in full light of the human consequences. How could she hope to explain such a thing to Joseph? What would the neighbors say? And there were the stern provisions of the Law that might require her to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:23f). Never was there a greater act of faith.