Elizabeths story

I can tell you I have to pinch myself to be sure this last year has not been just a dream. I’m a bit reticent to tell others, it all seems so surreal really. But I will try and tell you because I know you are all fellow believers, friends and neighbours, and have known my struggles in life.

It all started over a year ago. Zechariah and I were going about our lives, just like you, knowing our God, but feeling pretty despondent we have to admit. We just didn’t feel blessed what with the Romans and all that. On top of that as you all know one of the greatest blessings a wife can have is to bear her husband a child. For years I had felt one day God would bless me, and Zech, with a baby boy, but by now I had come to accept it was just not my lot. I was well past the age where that was going to happen.

But then…….then it happened! You have probably all heard the gossip. Well, it is true, most of it anyway. Unbelievable really. My husband you see, drew the lot, a special privilege, to go into the temple’s inner sanctuary, and there he had this “encounter” I guess you would say with an angel. Freaky really, totally freaked Zech, but what was even more mind-blowing for Zech was he was told he would have a child within the year? He, understandably really, struggled to believe this was possible. We had over the years been left so disillusioned and disappointed after well-intentioned people had said they believed God would give us a boy. But this, you have to say was different, the angel said he was Gabriel, how dare he question.

Anyway, Zech came out of the temple after quite some time like a stunned mullet. Couldn’t speak for the whole nine months I was pregnant. But we both knew something special was about to happen. Our child was going to be a special child somehow in God’s purposes. It was hard to explain to you lot. I think you all knew too it was special, it had to be, me having a child at my age?

But that’s not all. About seven months into my pregnancy, out of the blue, a young cousin of mine, Mary, who lived way up in Nazareth, Galilee, arrived at my door. I realised she was pregnant but before I could say anything the baby inside of me gave this almighty kick. It seemed to me he was leaping for joy. And it was catchy. I just couldn’t help myself. I felt so overwhelmed with praise to our God, for somehow I felt that Mary’s baby was the promise we had all longed for. Mary also sensed it, for I suspect she had spent many a night of lonely pondering. Now she sang out in amazement, in freedom, as she voiced her amazement that our God would look down on such inconspicuous, lowly women like us and use us to achieve the unthinkable.

Oh, what a great couple of months we had together before she had to head home to Nazareth.

Then my baby was born, you know the story. They all expected us to name him at least after his grandad, who had recently died, if not Zechariah, but Zech wrote down, no, his name is John.

Zech right then got his tongue back, and you couldn’t shut him up, going about praising God for all the things He was about to do.

But then I heard about Mary’s baby, and the amazing birth scene. But I’ll leave Mary to tell you all about that.