Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, "God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."

Luke 1:42-45 NLT

There's some kind of interesting connection being described here;

physical 

emotional 

spiritual 

The interconnectedness of who we are, of the miracle of carrying another life, and the connection between people.

Maybe that's one of the things that we are looking for at Christmas with the gathering and the gift giving is connection...

And then there is Elizabeth's blessing to Mary:

"You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."

Elizabeth & Mary's story will never be repeated, but this blessing can be:

"You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."

The shift from doubt to belief may be once-and-done, or it may be a step we need to retake as our circumstances and story shifts and changes, but the invitation is here, to be like Mary, and hold to this redemptive strand that our God does, and will, do what He said.

May we find the connection we are looking for...

#advent

#Christmas 

#redemptivestrands 

#invitation 

#trust

#hopeishere