As I listened to our gospel reading at mass, I smiled.
We heard about “the visitation” … when Mary traveled to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. And I wondered … Mary had believed and she had said “yes” to God.
But did she ever second-guess herself? Did she ever wonder if she had really heard God correctly?
I second-guess all the time, and to a ridiculous extent. I rarely question God, but I sure question myself – whether I heard it right, whether I’m deceiving myself, or if I missed something. God is always oh-so-patient with me, giving me time to work through it and sending little bits of confirmation or encouragement.
So if Mary ever did question herself, how wonderful it must have been to hear Elizabeth’s words! What a confirmation and joy to be with someone who she loved and trusted and who understood … and who didn’t judge or think her story was strange.
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:39-45)
What a wonderful blessing for Mary and also for us today. I pray for us all – this is a difficult world and a difficult time and yet we can be filled with joy that what was spoken by the LORD has been fulfilled, and will be fulfilled.
Hi Lori~ I 2nd guess myself all the time too. I just discovered your blog today. I am in the process of determining where God wants me to take my blog in 2013— and i wanted to encourage my readers/followers to delve into scripture this year. Hence I was looking for a schedule to work through the Catholic bible in a year. So glad I found you! I can’t wait to read some of your articles!! Kate Kresse http://believeanyway.wordpress.com
Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement! I am starting my third year of the Bible reading program and have been blessed beyond what I imagined – I pray you will be as well! Lori