31 Days of Trusting Grace - Day 29 - Why Every Mary Needs an Elizabeth

We're walking around the track, me and this woman who's been around just a little more than I.  We laugh.  We do some scheming.  She teaches me the secrets of finding a man (I'm saving those to put in my NYT Bestseller, so sit tight, y'all.) and the secrets of teaching.  And I think about how many women like her God has brought into my life.  And I am thankful.  I think about the women who have taken me under their wings and loved me and spoken blessing over me and called out my gifts.  I think of how many times, in how many lives, I've gotten to see that no matter what kind of crazy things get thrown our way, HE OVERCOMES IT ALL.  Every season, every time, in grief, in insecurity, in our running and our doubting and our questioning, HE NEVER LETS GO.  I'm too young to really see that in my own life.  There's always this little question of, "Will this be the one time I push too far?  Will this be the one time He doesn't step in and save?  Will this be the place where grace finally runs out?"  I know the truth and I sing the songs, but I wonder sometimes... How far does His Love really go?  Will He really "never fail, never give up, and never run out on me"?  But He places these women in my life so I can see it.  One thing remains.  Always....

And that's how we learn to live like Proverbs 31 is true, like we really are clothed with strength and dignity and we can just laugh at the days to come.  Because these precious lives are the proof that no matter what we face, we'll come out the other side.  And I'll say it to all the twenty-somethings out there: If we are going to stand firm in faith, we need to walk with these women!  

So the angel comes to Mary and He tells her about this insane, amazing thing that God is going to do through her (and don't we all have some inkling of the great things God wants to do in and through us?).  And she gives God her yes and praises His name.  But then He tells her how her cousin Elizabeth, this older woman, is facing her own miracles, like God knows her faith will waver and she's too young to really understand and she'll need an extra boost, and Mary goes to her.  And it's Elizabeth who speaks some of my favorite words in Scripture:

Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. (Luke 1:45)

 And that's the thing.  We need those women in our lives who will come up beside us and - with their lives if not with their words - whisper to us, "Blessed is she who has believed... Blessed is she..." Every Mary needs an Elizabeth if we're going to see His Kingdom come.

So, ladies, who are you going walking with today?