“Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.” – Luke 1:56
Since travelling was vastly different then, from what it is today, it was more common to stay for longer periods of time then what we’re used to. We know from earlier in this chapter that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Mary, her cousin, had the encounter with the angel Gabriel. (v.26).
I wonder what those intimate conversations were like between the two women.. One barely at the age to be called a woman, and the other so far along in age that to the natural mind it seemed unthinkable that she would conceive a child. And yet here we find the two women, vastly different in many ways, but journeying together in a similar circumstance. It’s amazing how common ground can grow deep intimacy in friendship and how it encourages us to keep going - especially in times when we would normally have felt alone.
I wonder… Did Elizabeth hold Mary’s hair back as she was doubled over with morning sickness in those first few months of carrying our Saviour? Did Mary rub Elizabeth’s swollen feet in compassion for her older cousin who had walked a lifetime of miles more than her? Did Mary rub Elizabeth’s back as she wearied through fatigue? Did Elizabeth share her deepest love for Yahweh, and pour out the wisdom she learned from Zachariah to the young Mary? Was Mary able to stay long enough to hold John before she had to return home?
It may seem like a small thing, this one sentence… but it has me reflecting on the kindness of God. I can’t help but think of how God orchestrates our lives so intricately. Providing a person (or a group of people) to rally around us in the most vulnerable seasons of our lives. Someone who you’re able to trust and share where you’re at with…the details of what you’re going through… how you feel about all of it… and not be afraid that they’ll think you’re crazy for vocalizing it.
As Jesus followers, not only do we have the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us, comfort us, and teach us in all His ways. But also, in His kindness, He surrounds us with others to journey with us. Ones we can physically feel the warmth of and be embraced by. Hear their words audibly that remind us of our purpose and His plan. His comfort pours out through His people… at just the right time. In ways we maybe don’t even recognize that we need… making the weight of the journey a little lighter. Encouraging us to keep going.
Loneliness is a trap of the enemy. But God’s ways point us to Truth. Surround us with Hope. Joy. Peace. And in His kindness, encircles us with people who journey through it all with us.
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