There’s something frequently overlooked, leading up to the birth story of baby Jesus:
“After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
‘The Lord has done this for me,’ she said…” Luke 1:24,25
We brush past this to talk about Mary going to meet Elizabeth…….
But wait a second. Wait, wait, let’s go back just a second.
Elizabeth was THRILLED to be pregnant, but then she went into SECLUSION?!! Why on earth would she do that?!
Because she was old. Her hope to be a mother was old. She had tried and tried and tried and T.R.I.E.D. to become a mother. Both she and her man were flat WORN OUT. They carried the burden of shame and it weighed on them heavily.
The weight of their shame caused them BOTH to react to the gift given to them in DOUBT. In FEAR.
Elizabeth knew she had been given a gift, she was thankful for it, but even in the simple knowing, she couldn’t face the village. So she waited. She waited until the gift was showing for itself. When she wouldn’t be afraid they would scoff at her, laugh at her, mock her, call her a liar, try to belittle her truth.
If you’ve waited to tell people you’re pregnant, you’re not the only one. But may we all be encouraged to discern what it is we have – are we holding a gift of love, or are we holding the weight of fear? Did Elizabeth borrow time to prove her point? Was visibility a condition, was approval a condition, before she shared her gift with those who caused her great pain, pressure, insecurity in the past? What do we need to do to love, to be secure in love, unconditionally?
What about now? Are you holding a gift that you haven’t shared yet, out of fear of rejection? What brilliant life within you are you hiding out of fear of your little greatness? Step out, Sisters. Let’s give our gifts unconditionally.
