Photo by @abbithecatholic on Instagram - a submission from our #HOMWFadventphoto call
Day 5 of Having a "Mary" Christmas in a Martha World
Luke 1:39-56, 1 John 4:10-12, John 13:34, Acts 2:42, Psalm 55:13-14, Acts 1:14
“Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
These were the words Mary’s cousin Elizabeth exclaimed as Mary showed up at her house. What a beautiful gift that was. For Elizabeth to be filled by the Holy Spirit as Mary carried Jesus inside of her, closer to Elizabeth. And for Mary, to have her cousin, someone she loved and trusted, to understand and believe her and what she was going through.
We as women have so much strength and so much power. As we women, we have the power to lift someone up, when they are down. We have a way with words. You don’t have to be the touchy feely type either. There’s something about it, when a woman speaks with conviction; It’s powerful. We also have the power to tear down. To find the faults and weaknesses in others when we are not feeling as secure with ourselves.
There is a great beauty when women come together for fellowship. You can feel the Love and support. You can see strength. When we desire what is good for our sister and they know that, that trust is unbreakable and it helps us become fully alive and who we are meant to be we have the same goal of seeking Christ in our lives. Yes, we may not mesh well with everyone and that’s ok but you don’t have to mesh well with someone to want her good. We don’t have to have the perfect sisterhood, in order to love and understand and listen to a woman who desires that fellowship. Our differences can help build each other up if we let them.
Mary and Elizabeth are perfect examples of sisterhood. Did they have differences? Yes! First of all, Elizabeth was much, much older than Mary, among other things but despite their differences, they didn’t let that interfere with their sisterhood. How are we blessed like Mary? There are many answers to this question but one is that we are able to share something that her and her cousin shared, despite their differences and state in life, a sisterhood.
How can we strive to build up the sisters (related or not) in our lives? How can we grow our sisterhoods? Is that being vulnerable? Is that spending quality time with each other? Is that reaching out to someone if we don’t have a sisterhood at all? Is that challenging each other instead of seeing something wrong and ignoring for fear of calling someone out? Know that whatever sisterhood we do have, it is a gift that cant be replace and one to be cherished. Mary wasn’t alone. She had a sisterhood too.
If we feel like we don’t have a sisterhood, Mary is still our mother. She is still with us and will never leave us. Ask her to help you find those women, even if they’re not ideal in our minds, to have a sisterhood with. As we are waiting, we can always have fellowship and sisterhood with Mary. She is still our mother. She can bring such peace and love when we let her in.
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