Sharing hard times.

Advent 2011 Day 23

Luke 1:39-55
And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.


How important do you think Elisabeth is to the story of Christmas? She's pretty much never mentioned when people are talking about Christmas. I mean, she's John's Mom, not Jesus'.
But she must have really made a huge difference to Mary. Mary would have been terrified, knowing that she was pregnant, and not married, and she would have been wondering what would happen to her. Maybe she even wondered how her cousin Elisabeth would react. But she didn't need to worry.
From the first moment that Elisabeth heard Mary's voice, she knew that there was something special about the baby that Mary carried, and she told her that. She didn't berate her at all; she didn't judge her. She began to prophecy about the baby, and tell Mary that she was blessed.
My guess is that it would have made a huge difference to Mary to have someone to share her pregnancy with. And not just someone who was pregnant at the same time, but someone who was also pregnant with a baby whose coming had been foretold by an angel. Elisabeth was not carrying the son of God, but she was carrying a very special baby.
Having someone to share in our hard times makes those hard times less difficult. I'm not talking about the "misery loves company" thing, where you want people around you to be miserable if you are. But instead, when you are going through a difficult time, it is nice to know that there is someone who understands, and someone you can talk to. Someone you can share your thoughts and feelings with. And that is what Elisabeth was to Mary.
Who is that for you? Who can you talk to? And are you trustworthy enough to be that person for someone else?