Choosing Christmas, Day Twelve

Day Twelve

December 14

So, we haven’t gotten Mary and Elizabeth any farther than the door. Sorry, about that y’all. There’s just so much to consider, and I’m trying to keep our daily readings brief. We’ve been talking about the women’s mutual faith. Today, we’ll focus on Elizabeth, the older of the two. First, a reminder: Elizabeth wasn’t a spring chicken when she conceived. And, as the saying going, she isn’t getting any younger—and she is now in her sixth month. Other than the initial prophecy, there’s no biblical record of additional angelic visits to either Elizabeth or her husband. Elizabeth has swollen feet, food cravings, and a memory. . .oh, but it’s a good one.

God had promised Elizabeth’s husband that their child would be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in her womb, and that he would herald the Messiah. The moment has arrived, and the matron testifies that this is precisely what’s happening when she says to Mary, “And how has it happened that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!”

12) Age can complicate our relationships. Older women sometimes feel like younger women look right through them; and younger women often feel like older women don’t take them seriously. Am I right? But here is Elizabeth, by far Mary’s senior, humbling herself and joyfully acknowledging her younger relative as the mother of her Lord. Following Mary’s humble lead, let’s journal ways we could embody the love of Immanuel, God with Us, to someone outside our age bracket today.

Hugs,
Shellie