“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” Luke 1:39-45
God Guides Us to the People We Need
By Laurie Norris
My friend Georgia and I always room together on our church’s women’s retreat. Georgia’s sons were born when I was in middle school so she is not an entire generation older than me, as Elizabeth is to Mary, but our experiences are out of sync. Even with this age (or experience) difference, we have a strong bond and always room together. Laughter and a bit of a rebellious streak draw us to each other. In between our yearly retreats, we don’t stay in touch all that much, except on Sunday mornings at church. Spending time with Georgia, having her as home base at the retreat, is part of what is so healing about these weekends. We don’t solve the world’s problems, or even solve our own personal problems, but somehow, we always leave the weekend better women than we were when we arrived.
When I read about Mary, soon after being told she is pregnant with God’s baby, traveling ninety miles to be with her much older cousin Elizabeth – also miraculously pregnant – I wonder about the three months they spend together. It makes me think of rooming with Georgia. I assume Elizabeth and Mary haven’t spent a lot of time together, but the time they have spent together has bonded them so strongly, that Mary knows that to get through this scary, possibly dangerous experience, she needs the healing visit with Elizabeth. And God gives Elizabeth the supernatural knowing and the exact words that Mary needs. God is a providential God. God guides us to the people we need. Like Mary and Elizabeth. Like Georgia and Laurie.