“Blessed is she who has believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45)
A picture popped up on my phone the other. Sometimes, these little reminders of the past draw in sadness, but not this time.
I smiled when I saw it. Then tears.
My oldest son is around twelve years old, with my dad. My memories of my dad are no longer crisp and clear. They’ve faded over time, but I remember a few things like yesterday.
Sitting on the couch, the smell of coffee while we each opened presents. How my dad loved Christmas, and how he and my mom showed up in matching Pjs or he’d be wearing a Santa hat. I can still hear his laugh and excitement for the gifts given. Posing for pictures in front of the tree and during gift-giving, smiling, enjoying the moment.
As I ponder the past, I can’t help but think of how much life has changed and how very different Christmas is now. I never thought he’d be gone. I never thought that might be the last year I’d hear his laugh on Christmas morning. In one photo, my son beams while cherishing a gift from his grandfather, unbeknownst to the mother behind the lens that years later, drugs would nearly claim her son’s life.
Christmases are no longer the same. In part because one family member is missing but also because life over the past several years has changed me.
Christmas means far more than it did before. It’s no longer about the presents, although we still have plenty. It’s not about sitting through well-produced shows or a big meal, although we still enjoy them.
I find it intriguing how the toughest moments that rattle us can reignite our sense of wonder. Amid life’s chaos and challenges, we unearth the profound beauty woven within its tapestry. Struggles compel us to seek out deeper significance and meaning in our existence.
The way through the dark is, and always will be, to break free from the loneliness of the unknown. Elizabeth’s words are a testament to the vital importance of fellowship.
“Blessed is she who has believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (Luke 1:45)
For one moment, let’s pretend we’ve never heard this story before to see how Elizabeth spoke of the sacred part of Christmas.
Self-sufficiency is not the intention for us. We are all a body. We belong together. We need each other. Through Elizabeth’s words, it is evident that fellowship is an inherent part of Christmas and is essential to our well-being. We need each other.
Mary longed for the blessing Elizabeth bestowed upon her. She yearned for the Spirit’s words that resonated deeply within her at that precise moment.
We often forget Mary, being a young girl needing the words of Elizabeth because of the unknown of her pregnancy. We often think of Mary as continually happy and carefree, but we all know that just because God calls you to something doesn’t mean you’re free from worry. Mary, a young girl with a huge calling, might have felt excluded, rejected by family and friends, overwhelmed, and completely worn out; after all, she was human.
In Luke 1:45, “blessed” is the Greek word makarious, meaning “one whom God makes fully satisfied–not because of favorable circumstances, but because God provides the comfort. Makarious is to be fully content, even in the suffering and the unknown, because God came to dwell with us.
God came to conquer death and save us from it.
Elizabeth proclaimed that God would bless Mary with full satisfaction in Him if she believed His promises. We also can be fully content in our suffering and loneliness because God took human flesh, so we never have to be alone again.
We have a Father who will never leave and holds our hand through the valley of darkness. Behind the cute little nativity on my mantel sits a powerful truth: We are saved.
After enduring such intense suffering, Christmas has become more real and beautiful over the past few years. I need more than a jolly old man bringing me gifts and the hustle and bustle of the season.
I need a Saviour. Joy and satisfaction are found only in Him. We have access to complete satisfaction because of Jesus.
Father, help us cling to this hope as we move through the holidays.