Elizabeth's Joy

He will be a joy and a delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth. —Luke 1:14 NIV

Imagine what must it have been like to live in an age when childlessness meant you were judged by many as a sinful woman. A time when having a fulfilling career in something other than motherhood was not an option. A time when every woman was a stay-at-home mother, and everywhere you went were babies, toddlers, and expectant mothers swarming about? It must have been brutally hard for the childless woman.

For a few brief years, I experienced the ache of longing for children. Even in our culture, it was hard. I remember the baby shower I had to leave because I could not stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. How was that fair to the mother-to-be if I stayed and cried? Oh, how my heart aches for dear Elizabeth, eventual mother of John the Baptist, the forerunner to the Messiah.

Luke states very clearly in his story of Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, that she was “ … upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly” (Luke 1:6 NIV 1984). In other words, this was not Elizabeth’s fault. At all. (Of course it wasn’t, but in Luke’s time that needed to be said.) All her life—and she and Zechariah were “well along in years” (vs. 7)—this dear woman dutifully served God. And somehow managed to carry on despite her hurts and wounds and her barren womb.

In light of this, imagine her shock and joy to find out she was pregnant, just as an angel had predicted. What?! Luke tells us she stayed in seclusion for five months of her pregnancy. I wonder why? Was it simply because she wanted to treasure every single amazing moment of an experience she never ever thought would happen? Every baby is special. However, a baby born after long years of yearning is a birth and a pregnancy filled with awe and wonder and every little detail makes a memory. Oh, Elizabeth! I’m so happy your story had such a surprise ending!

Check this verse out: “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” (vs. 14). Not only did Elizabeth enjoy the privilege of being a mom, she was told in advance he’d be a good kid. He’d bring her joy! Now that’s a deal most of us would dearly love, since just having a child doesn’t necessarily guarantee that life will flow in uninterrupted bliss. Right? But John was a joy and a delight. He kicked it off (pun intended) in the womb, when he “leaped for joy” at Elizabeth’s first sight of Mary, also a stunned mother at another end of the age spectrum, who was carrying Jesus, Savior of the world (vs. 44).

I have no idea how long Elizabeth and Zechariah lived after the birth of their dear son. Were they still alive when he began his ministry and wandered off to the desert to begin heralding the coming Savior? Surely they were not alive when an evil king beheaded their dear son. I do hope they had the full joy of raising their son to adulthood and seeing him launched in ministry, serving God with every fiber of his being. And then I hope God graciously took them home to Him before the hard part of John’s death.

In either case, there was joy. Oh, let’s not ever give up in despair as long as we are alive. Let’s take a lesson from Elizabeth. Let’s lead good lives, serving the God who loves us and whose plans are beyond our understanding. And let’s remember that life doesn’t stop when we are older. Nope. God may just surprise us with something big and joyful in our nineties. Now that’s a fun-filled joy-thought to hold onto today!

Heavenly Father, be near to those who long for children. Comfort and sustain them and bless them as they wait. Help them to fully live out Your good plans for their lives. And thank You, Lord, for Elizabeth’s “joy story.” How I thank You that life with You is a blessed adventure, no matter our age. I bow my head in worship. Amen.

Originally written by Sharon Gamble of Sweet Selah Ministries.

Older & Younger Moms

"Who's teaching mothers these days anyways?!"

An older mom looked at me, wanting to roll her eyes and tear up at the same time.

We had been talking about a choice one mom had made that put the health of her infant in jeopardy; one that she was comfortable with while those around her watched with horror. The choice is hers, and she owns it.

But the exclamation from my friend turned my attention elsewhere --
Who do we learn from?
Who is teaching us younger moms, anyways?

We moms are pros at figuring things out as we go. We have to! Kids (and life in general) are unpredictable, and we have to expect the unexpected and be prepared for what we don't know how to do.

Yet Scripture gives us this mandate:
"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled" (Titus 2:3-5).

Older women are given the responsibility of teaching and training the younger women; they have had more years under their belts and typically have much wisdom for younger women to glean from.

Guess what that means for us younger women? We should listen to those who are older than us! Everything must be held against the Word of God, but that certainly shouldn't deter us from listening to those who have more life experience than we do. They may have tips for maintaining a home, or tricks for effectively disciplining a stubborn child; they may have habits they've kept for decades that have served them well in their personal lives. Each older woman has things that worked for her and things that didn't; imagine how much you could learn from even a few older moms!

My challenge to you and myself for this holiday season especially is to listen to moms older than us. We will have opportunities as we gather with family and friends to interact with women we can learn from. Even the most unlikely of people have things we can learn - whether we keep or discard their ideas.

As we sit down together, open gifts together, share meals together - don't be afraid to ask, or pay attention to a conversation that's already started. And when someone does share with you, resist the urge to be prideful. Resist cutting her off if you're not interested; resist rolling your eyes if it's something you've heard a thousand times. Hear it once more and be respectful of her opinions and methods. It will bless her, and if it doesn't bless you it will strengthen your patience and grace. Which is really still a blessing. ;)

Originally written by Amy Parsons for the Strength & Song weekly email.

In Mary's Arms

The angel – Gabriel – he told me You’d be coming. Told me not to worry, that I had somehow found favor with God; that God was giving You to me.

A Gift, though for most of these nine months I think I might be the only one who sees You as that. Joseph has married me still and believes – I’m so grateful God told him too. He knows You’re a Gift.

At first I thought You’d be like any other child, but special, maybe? since I’d never known a man and didn’t see how I could be pregnant. But he told me You were from the Holy Spirit, and therefore You would be holy.

It took me a minute to catch up with what he’d said after that. Holy. The babe inside me, holy?  How could this be? It humbles me.

How do I nurture a holy child? Discipline a holy child?

Oh Little One, You’ll teach me more than I’ll ever teach You.

Staring into Your eyes, sweet boy, You’re the most precious of precious babes. I’ve thought of so many things to share with You, when we get back home. For now we’ll just take each other in. I want every minute I have with You, Little One.

Those shepherds just leaving, they came to see You. Did You know who they were? I wonder what goes on in that tiny head of Yours… how much You already know. The men watched You in awe, having been told by angels that You had arrived.

Oh Little One, what have I been swept into? That the world would know You, my son, a king — the King from Heaven. God’s Son —

You aren’t mine, Little One. I thought I’d have that bond every mother has with her child, knowing I’m the one to keep You going and sustain You, nurture and teach You; that bond that’s indescribable and automatically there. It came, Sweetheart, but it’s different. I’m not Your end-all.

I’ll be here to wipe Your tears and carry You; I’ll hold Your hands as You learn to walk; I’ll teach You everything I know. But You don’t belong to me, and I wonder how much You really need me. You’re the Son of the all-powerful God.

What a gift. I suppose every child is a gift from God — surely, yes; absolutely. But You… You’re straight from God Himself, with no man involved. I don’t understand, my Dear, but I believe.

Your faith — is it greater than mine already? I don’t have much as it is. What things will I learn from You, Little One? You wrinkle Your nose and stretch those hands and I can only hold You close in amazement. God come to Earth, here in my arms.

I can’t imagine where Your life will take You, Little One. You’ll learn woodworking with Joseph, and I’m sure You’ll learn all that You can from the priests — unless You’re the one teaching them?

You’ll be a king, on the throne of David; You’re the Holy One, the Son of God. I thank God for His mercy toward me, though I’m at a loss for how to handle all of this. How best to handle You, Sweetheart.

Come closer, Little One. Let’s go to bed now and remember today. I have a feeling we’ll have to go forward slowly, one day at a time.

I love You, Little One.

I love You, Jesus.

Written by Amy Parsons.

Read the full story — Matthew 1 & 2, Luke 1 & 2.

Fear [of the LORD]

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

The judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

Psalm 19:9

I can only speak for myself, but the “fear of the Lord” has always been somewhat of a puzzle to me. Surely the Bible doesn’t mean fear as in the way we think of fear, right? It’s more comfortable to think of God as our friend. As our Lover. Our Savior. Our Comforter. Our Rock.

While He is all of those and more, the many verses in the Bible about fearing the Lord make me wonder if maybe I’ve missed out on an important aspect of my Creator.

Fear: “yir’ah”

“to fear, to reverence, fear, terror, fear [of God], respect, reverence, piety” (Strong’s concordance)

In Psalm 19:9, the verse above, when the Psalmist says, “The fear of the Lord is clean”, he means clean as in the opposite of unclean. You only have to read a little of the books of Law in the Old Testament to realize that unclean and clean was a BIG DEAL to the Lord and His people. There are so many verses about the fear of the Lord. It is…

• wisdom (Prov. 9:10, 15:33, Psa 111:10)

• knowledge (Prov. 1:7, 29, 2:5)

• prolonging your days (Prov. 10:27, 14:27, 19:23)

• a refuge; protection (Prov. 14:26, 19:23)

• a strong confidence (Prov. 14:26)

• a separation from evil (Prov. 16:6)

• riches, honor, life (Prov. 22:4)

• a treasure (Isaiah 33:6)

• a hatred of evil (Prov. 8:13)

• a delight (Isaiah 11:3)

I think one of the most surprising revelations to me during my study of the fear of the Lord was when I read Isaiah 11:3, “His [Jesus] delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness…”

Jesus, our example/role model/leader, delighted in fearing God! God the Son feared God the Father with reverence, terror, respect, and piety.

If Jesus delights in fearing God, shouldn’t we do the same?

I’m still figuring out what that looks like, but thanks to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, I have the tools I need to understand and to practice the fear of the Lord as I go about the daily walk of motherhood and marriage.

Written by Natalya Brown, Administrative Assistant at Strength & Song.