Dear Diary,
I know it’s been a while since I've written. Life just gets so busy and the days fly
by. Amazing (can that possibly be a
strong enough word) things have happened and I need to write them here to
always remember – as if I could ever forget.
It all began that day Zechariah came home from the
Temple unable to speak. You can’t
imagine how weird it was when he started writing me notes. And then there was the jaw-dropping news that
he was telling, about being visited by an angel in the Temple (I can
see him now nodding his head so I would believe him). The angel told him I was going to have a
child. Zechariah told the angel he didn't think this could happen since we
are both old. The angel responded and
told him that because he didn't believe, he would not be able to talk until
after the child was born. What do you
mean you can’t talk? I’M GOING TO HAVE A BABY!?
What? My mind was spinning trying to take all of this in.
Oh, the emotions that flooded through me. How do you wrap your head around such earth
shattering news? First there was disbelief:
I’m too old, how can this be possible? Why now? An angel, God, can this
possibly be true? Am I dreaming, because
I have followed and prayed and served my God for so long and I want this
blessing so badly? When I heard my mind
say blessing, something snapped, and I began to praise my glorious God and
King. He had heard me and he answered. Soon, I would be holding my own very dear
child. Oh, my Lord, I will accept this
remarkable miracle and I will not doubt, for you are able to do the
impossible. And I will trust that things
are done in your time for your reasons.
And so I am/was pregnant. Every morning I woke up filled with overflowing joy. I can barely remember the years of disappointment
and sorrow. Waiting each month and
always the same outcome – no, not now. At
last, I am preparing my home for this baby and my heart is humming.
Then, in my sixth month, my niece Mary came for a visit. She entered my house and my child leaped
within my body and I was filled with the Holy Spirit. I was able to tell her that she indeed was
having God’s son. That she was blessed
by God above all women and her child was blessed.
She was blessed
because she believed that the Lord would do what he has said.
Luke 1:45
My husband was silenced because of his unbelief. Oh my, there’s something to think about.
Anyway, today, our son had his circumcision ceremony and all
our relatives and friends came. They wanted to name him Zechariah after his
father, but I said, “No, his name is John.” Everyone was surprised as no one in our family is named John. They all looked at Zechariah for his
response. He motioned for a piece of
paper and wrote, “His name is John.” Instantly, my husband could speak again and he immediately began
praising God.
Well, as you can imagine, the whole neighborhood can’t talk
about anything else and why not, it was, and continues to be a miracle. They knew the hand of the Lord was on John
and they wondered what he would turn out to be. At that, Zechariah, his father, was filled with the Holy Spirit and began
to prophesy about a mighty Savior, from the line of David, and of his son John,
who would prepare the way for the Lord. My heart was near bursting. My
God was not only faithful to me, his lowly servant, but to all who would
believe.
With joy in my heart and hope for the future, I praise you
my God. Because of God’s tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break
upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace. (Luke 1:78-79)
Your child,
Elizabeth
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