December 15th

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

There are so many directions that this Advent selection can take. I’ll take the supernatural and faith direction.

An angel spoke to Mary, she conceived by the Holy Spirit, and Elizabeth’s unborn baby leaped with joy when Mary visited her. Mary had a quiet, reserved faith and joy. But I wonder if she had any of the doubts and insecurities that I had with my first baby.

I had rarely been around babies, my family lived hours away, and our friends had no children. I questioned my ability to do this new job. Love was not the issue and I knew that stress and worry were useless. I prayed and relied on my faith in God and Mary’s baby Jesus. No matter the age of our children, the same will get me through each day. Thank you, Jesus.