Joyful Waiting

As I was reading through some of the mass reading for this week I was struck by all the references to Mary’s and Elizabeth’s pregnancies. Mary was pregnant with Jesus, the Savior of the world and Elizabeth, though old in age, became pregnant with John the Baptist, the herald of Jesus.  It reminded me of my two girls who are also pregnant together. In their case Annie is the oldest and Mary the youngest.

 Mary and Elizabeth both were in wonder of their pregnancies because they carried children of prophecy. Annie and Mary, though not carrying children of some ancient prophecy, are carrying children who are an answer to prayer. This summer, while visiting one of my dear prayer partners in Minnesota  I enjoyed an extended prayer time with some members of her church. I did pray that both girls would be pregnant at the same time. I can honestly say that I wasn’t really thinking of Mary and Elizabeth, but I was thinking that it would be nice if the girls had children who would grow up together. They, themselves, did not have any cousins their own age to play with, and I always thought that to be a family loss. However, this time things will be different thanks to the some divine intervention.

Throughout the pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth there appears to be a focus on joyful waiting. We can see this in Mary’s great prayer, the Magnificat and in Elizabeth’s husband Zecharias’ song.  I, too, am caught in joyful waiting for the birth of these two little ones. Waiting causes the mind to play out various scenarios of the babies’ births. Annie is due on Palm Sunday (March 24) and Mary Rose on Easter Sunday (March 31).Visions of bunnies and lambs having an Easter egg throwing contest is a funny thought. Could there be a St. Patrick’s Day or St. Joseph’s Day birth? Red and green, green and red…it’s Christmas again! I do hope each baby has his/her own birthday.  However, waiting is always best spent praying.  Just like Mary and Zecharias, time in prayer praising God for the gift of new life and the endless possibilities in the lives of these yet unborn children is a wonderful way to wait.  

I think, this principle of joyful waiting can be applied to other situations as well. Waiting for the results of a medical test or treatment, the results of an employment interview, a marriage proposal, a bid on a new home, these can all be causes of anxiety rather than joy. Considering the age of Elizabeth and the circumstances of Mary’s conception, these would both be cause of much worry, apprehension and uncertainty. Instead, both responses to the anticipation of these births were joy.

First, Mary’s joyful response:

My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
And his mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of his mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever. (Luke 1:46-66)

Then Zechariah’s song:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn^[a] of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹ salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1:67-75)

I have to give it to Luke, the gospel writer of these passages, for focusing on joy. He also gives some advice to those who are fraught with disquiet, distress and doubt. I think that this is particularly directed to women, whose emotions are more easily manipulated:

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” (Luke 1:45)

I pray for a strengthening of faith for myself, family and friends that will bring waiting filled with joy!

HAPPY 2013! 

Of Weddings and Babies or The Nesting Instinct

I'm back. It's been a long time since I wrote a blog. What may you ask, have I been doing all this time? My response, simply nesting. Just like birds, dogs and pregnant women, I've been nesting. I have been preparing a place for my growing family.

The announcement for the first addition, a new grandchild, began in January of 2011, when my married daughter and son-in-law surprised me and my husband with dinner and a cookie dessert that read, "Congratulations Grandma & Grandpa." I remember how utterly thrilled and surprised I was. In months that followed there were many nesting activities that included shopping for baby everything: clothes, furniture, toys, and even baby gadgets like video monitors. Also, baby showers and baby books updated me so I could create the most modern of nests. As part of the new nesting I was doing, I had to re-learn how to change a diaper (like riding a bike, one never forgets) and learn something called "swaddling." The only swaddling that I was familiar with prior to my granddaughter's birth was the verse from Luke 2:7 "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." All I could picture was baby Jesus wrapped up in what always looks like rolls of gauze without showing arms and legs. Well, I certainly discovered the benefits of swaddling, which is wrapping the baby with legs crossed and folded and arms at sides. According to some, this type of care is referred to as the "fourth trimester," or a way to re-create for the infant the confined quarters of mom's womb. Swaddling is suppose to make the baby feel safely secure for undisturbed sleeping. Yes, it does work and I did eventually get better at doing a crisp inside fold to make the swaddle tight. Swaddling...all part of nesting.

Perfectly swaddled or not, the joy that comes from holding, cuddling, and kissing my granddaughter is incomparable. Perhaps it comes closest to seeing a miracle unfold before your eyes. Yes, Miraculous, that is indeed the birth and life of every new child that comes into our world.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

Now, the other part of my nesting happened last Spring, when my younger daughter got engaged to another superior-son-in-law. It is just wonderful to be caught up in their love for each other, but weddings also require nesting, and some elaborate ones at that. From ceremonies, receptions, showers, dresses, tuxedos, invitations, flowers, decorations, programs, photographers, videogaphers, etc, etc. The wedding nest has a way of becoming very intricate even when the couples' taste is simple. It's just the natural order of wedding nesting, I guess.

However, the real foundation for the nest is always love, the kind of love mentioned by Paul in Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. it always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. It never fails.

It gives me great joy to see that kind of Corinthian love in my younger daughter and future son-in-law. I can't wait to see the completion of their wedding nest on their special day. It, too, will be one of God's miracles, the giving and receiving of love. One final thought. I once heard it said that a wedding is one of the few times when you get an opportunity to gather with all the people you love in one place.at one time. For me, that's the best definition of a love nest that's out there.