Confusion and Blessing

After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, "This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men." (Luke 1:24-25)

I know that I have visited this last verse previously. But today I am pondering the first one here, the part about hiding out because she was pregnant. And I am not coming up with any good insights or understanding about this. But I do have a lot of questions that maybe others, especially women, might be able to fill in some blind spots for me. After all, it is rather impossible for me to appreciate the emotions of a pregnant woman first-hand.

What may have been going on in the mind and spirit of Elizabeth during this time? Do you think she too was struggling to change her opinions about how God felt about her like her? It seems her husband was, only from a different direction.

As I understand it, women in general compulsively want to share exciting news with others. So I am struggling to grasp why she would react the opposite way from what a woman would naturally do after getting pregnant. Was she that embarrassed? Was she afraid of what others might think about an old woman having a baby? What elicited such a strange and non-conventional reaction from her?

The angel had informed her husband that they would experience joy and gladness and rejoicing at their son's birth. Did that also allow that they might feel a lot of fear, apprehension, insecurity or other emotions before his birth?

I have another question. I am quite certain that Elizabeth was far past menopause when all this transpired. So how did she come to first be aware that she was pregnant? Of course after a few months it would be obvious, but how soon might she have been able to figure it out and how? From my my way of thinking she would not have had all these strong reactions until she was certain that she actually was with child, and that might have not been for some time. But again, what do I know about such things. I would be interested in some other perspectives from you on this.

I do find it interesting that Luke notes her hiding away from society lasted five months. Apparently the arrival of her niece Mary who had just become pregnant with God must have radically altered her perspective and somehow changed her mind to come out of seclusion. Had she been hiding because she had been so fearful of what others might think about her husband's encounter with a heavenly messenger and might scoff at them for what was taking place in their marriage?

Did Mary's arrival bring some kind of closure or climax to something spiritual transpiring within Elizabeth's heart? Was she processing a lot of issues for five months that prepared her or matured her to be ready to come out of the closet when Mary showed up?

It is commonly accepted that Mary was very likely quite young when all this took place, possibly in her mid-teens. Being that young she may likely have been quite timid and even overwhelmed with all that was taking place in her life. Because of this it is easy to assume that she would need encouragement from an older woman with more maturity but also a strong faith in a God who does things very out of the ordinary. And such a woman might have been extremely rare at that time. Did Elizabeth suddenly sense her need to be that 'mother' for Mary when she saw that young, innocent, vulnerable face show up in need of encouragement? Did she suddenly sense upon seeing Mary's confused feelings and shy demeanor that it was time to quit thinking about her own fears and begin supporting and encouraging Mary for her benefit? And in so doing she well may have found the courage to come out of her own shell and finally cast aside her own fears of what others might think about her.

One of the most effective ways to break free of a seemingly impossible rut in our emotions is to begin reaching out to help other people instead of spending all our time on our own problems. When I was a teenager and my life was filled with confusion and problems, a wise leader once pointed this out to me. I don't remember practicing it very effectively at the time, but I didn't forget what he had said and it made sense to me. I have noticed that whenever I am willing to shift my focus from myself to trying to bless and help others out of a pickle, it isn't long before I have a totally different perspective on my own problems. Is this what may have been happening with Elizabeth?

One factor that is also very clear here is the fact that these were the only two women we know of on earth at that time who shared the experience of having a miracle child. So it only makes sense that they should get together to encourage each other, share their feelings and emotions and many other things that women share with each other so that they could better appreciate God's working in their lives.

I can only imagine some of the situations that might have transpired in that home during the days when Mary stayed with uncle Zacharias and aunt Elizabeth. How did Zacharias feel about all of this? He couldn't join into the conversations because he still could not speak at all. And that too added to the mix that created such interesting dynamics. Did he feel like an outsider to the excited exchanges between his wife and Mary? Was he shut out of the bedroom while they had animated discussions in private? Was he encouraged when he saw his own wife finally coming out of hiding after months of his own attempts to reassure and coax her had accomplished little to relieve her misgivings?

We may not have confirmed answers to many of these questions, but at the same time I think it can be healthy and even beneficial to seek for the clues in this story to discover things we seldom think about. I find that asking lots of questions allows the Spirit to bring encouragement and instruct my heart about things I would have never considered otherwise. Putting myself into these stories and allowing them to come alive with my own emotions forms stronger connections in my own heart to the same God that the people in these stories were coming to know. I am realizing that digging deeper into the stories, particularly those involving Jesus, is vital for awakening love and appreciation and awareness in my own spirit. And that is the only thing that really matters anyway, isn't it?

Are any of you reading this willing to let your emotions get involved deeper into this story and open your own imagination to insights from the Spirit? Are you willing to share some of them with me? I would enjoy the blessing of hearing your thoughts, your perspective on what the Spirit may be sharing with your heart. They don't have to be profound or theological; some of the most profound things seem simplistic to an over-educated mind I have found. What is important is what takes place at the heart level more than how accurate one's exegesis might be on a text.

Blessings, most favored one. God loves you passionately. How do you respond?