A question of timing, Elizabeth continued

When we met Elizabeth and Zechariah, they were sitting on the bench in front of their little home. Let's rejoin them . . .

Zechariah held out his small wax tablet to her; "who is that, coming up the hill?" he had written. Elizabeth peered down the path and saw a slight, young figure carefully stepping up the hill toward their home. She considered carefully, and then her face lit up. "Why, it's Mary!" Zechariah helped her to her feet, and then nodded at her, disappearing into the house. He knew that his wife would want to welcome her visitor and then catch up on all the news. He would rejoin them when they'd had a chance to do that.

Elizabeth walked to where the path began its steep descent to the valley, and watched as her cousin came toward her. The girl waved at her cheerily, and then called out a happy greeting.

Elizabeth planted her feet as a wave of strange feelings came over her, at the sound of Mary's call. She felt the baby within her jump and turn, as if leaping about inside her!

She burst out with a greeting of her own for Mary:

                               "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child
                               you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother
                               of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your
                               greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
                               Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill
                               his promises to her!” (Luke 1:42b-45)

As she reached her older cousin, Mary began to praise God as they embraced. With joy, she blessed the Lord who had reached down into both of their lives and fulfilled promises.

                                And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices
                                in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of
                                his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for
                                the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
                                              His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to
                               generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;  he has  
                               scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has
                               brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
                                             He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away
                               empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
                                             to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our
                               ancestors.” (Luke 1:46-55)

As they sat down together, the older woman and the young girl, their faces were radiant with the joy they felt, and with their adoration of the Lord. Surely He was using them for great purposes, but neither one showed the slightest sign of pridefulness -- only a devotion to God and a desire to do His will.
Surely their example is one that we need to take to heart!

We'll conclude our study on Elizabeth tomorrow.