Seeking the Horizon

Seventeenth Advent Reading

In those days Mary arose
and went with haste into
the hill country…

Luke 1:39

Mary may have been a contemplative at first but when her conversation with Gabriel began sinking in as her “condition” became reality she fled to the only person who would understand. Elizabeth also knew the outcome of a Gabriel visit and for six months she had been living the encounter. No one could have possibly helped Mary understand what lay ahead like Elizabeth.

Difficult times demand empathetic companions. Finding someone who is experiencing or has experienced a similar situation is to discover hope. Knowing that you’re not alone allows a view of the way out where once you saw only barriers.

God promises that with every difficulty he allows, a way out is also on the horizon. Mary wasn’t given her world turning event without someone who could be in the experience with her. After Mary’s three month stay in the hill country Elizabeth gives birth and Mary is once again left alone. But the companionship she shared during those three months must have helped her through the ensuing months of feeling alone and ostracized.

Gabriel was gone and Mary couldn’t prove his visit but she only needed at least one person who could understand. God provided just what she needed when she needed it.

Thank you God for not leaving me helpless
when difficulties come.
Help me to see the horizon
and the help you always provide.

Amen.