Iam always astounded by the intricate, unexpected ways the Lord connects us to other people and weaves our stories together. Over and over in Scripture we see reminders that we are not meant or made to walk through life alone; the Lord has such a knack for bringing along the right person at the right time.
Early in Luke 1, for example, an angel named Gabriel visited a priest name Zechariah. Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, had wanted to have children for a long time, and although they were “well along in years” (v. 7), Gabriel announced that Elizabeth was going to give birth to a son named John who would be special “while still in his mother’s womb” (v. 15). Sure enough, Elizabeth got pregnant and Scripture tells us that “for five months kept herself hidden” (v. 24 esv).
The shock factor of being in her sixties and expecting a baby must have been something else, you know?
Meanwhile, while Elizabeth was “hidden,” Gabriel visited her much younger cousin—a teenager named Mary—in Nazareth. He told Mary that she was also going to have a baby named Jesus, and her child would inherit the throne of David (v. 32) and His kingdom would have no end (v. 33).
Mary’s reaction is maybe my favorite question in all of Scripture: “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (v. 34 esv).
SUCH a fair question, you know?
And right after Gabriel told her precisely how it would be, he shared some game-changing news: “your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless” (v. 36).
It was a few years ago when, for whatever reason, that passage seemed to leap off the page when I read it. So I grabbed my pen, and at the top of the page I wrote, “God gave Mary someone who would understand.”
Think about it. Finding out that you’re going to give birth to, you know, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD would be a bit of a shock, but in the middle of that, God didn’t ask Mary to walk through it alone. Suddenly two cousins with a fifty-ish year age difference had way more in common than they could have ever imagined.
- An angel visited Elizabeth’s husband. An angel also visited Mary.
- Elizabeth was facing an unexpected pregnancy. Mary was facing an unexpected pregnancy.
- Elizabeth’s baby was going to be special. Mary’s baby was going to be, like, the special-est. Ever.
As C. S. Lewis once wrote, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one.’”
Elizabeth was Mary’s “Me too.”
After Mary heard Gabriel’s news, she “hurried” (v. 39) to Elizabeth’s house. The two of them were years apart, but the Lord intricately connected their hearts, their purposes, and their lives.
God is so kind to give us people who can be a safe place. Keep your spiritual eyes wide open as you look for your “Me too.” She may not look anything like you expect.
But you wouldn’t want to miss her for anything in the world.
1. Who would you say is your most unlikely or unexpected friend? Why is that?
2. Do you have a desire to have an Elizabeth in your life? What specific qualities do you pray she has?
3. Do you find comfort in the fact that Mary had Elizabeth—a friend who would understand—in the middle of such unexpected, life-changing circumstances? Why or why not?
4. Why is it good for younger women to have older women in their lives? Are there specific benefits to friendships across generations?
Today’s Prayer