Advent is a special time of family worship at our house. We light the candles on the advent wreath on the four Sundays before Christmas and read part of the Christmas story from the Bible. Since my father is from Germany, we sing carols in German and in English, and we have special German Christmas cookies that we only get at this time of year. My favorite part of our worship time is always praying together. Each person gets to pray, big and little, and we just get to talk to God about whatever is on our hearts. It is intimate and beautiful.
So, for the next four weeks I am going to share with you the nativity pages from my Journaling Bible and do a little Advent devotional. The first drawing I want to share with you is on the first page of Luke.
God promised to send a savior, and He was setting everything in place so He could make that happen. The first thing He did was a little miracle designed to make sure there was someone to help prepare the way for the messiah.
Elizabeth was a relative of Mary's and was "very old" and was unable to have children. An angel appeared to her husband Zechariah while he was on incense duty at the temple. The angel told him he would have a child who would be great in God's eyes, filled with the spirit and who would...
Luke 1:17 "He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly" The funny part is, Zechariah didn't believe it, and because he questioned the angel's ability to carry out the miracle, he was struck dumb (unable to speak) for the next 9 months until the baby arrived! He must have been one of the people who needed to accept the wisdom of the godly!
After he went home, Elizabeth became pregnant and went into seclusion for 5 months. She had a different response than her husband, she said, "How kind the Lord is! He has taken away my disgrace of having no children!" I imagined Elizabeth, sitting in her rocker, writing in her journal about the kindness of God toward her. How beautiful, ...and she hadn't even heard from her husband yet, just how amazing this kid would be! She thanked God that she got to be a part of His plan, even when, as of yet, she only knew a small part of it.
In her 6th month, after she got out of seclusion, God would use her to mentor and encourage young Mary for the task ahead of her. Poor Mary needed Elizabeth's encouragement! Both of these women were called and chosen by God to carry and raise men who would change the world. Both of their boys would go on to do great things, and both would be martyred for their faith. What a big job to prepare a young man for such a life! God knew they were up for the task, and that they would need each other in order to do it!
This passage encouraged me to appreciate the blessings and the kindnesses of God in my life. I also was reminded of how important it is to rely on other women and friends, and encourage others for the tasks that God has placed in front of them. God can use me as a mother and as an artist, and God can use you with what He has called you to do. You never know, being faithful with what we are given to do right now might just save the world!
What small thing are you being faithful with right now, that might turn out to be a big thing? Homeschooling? Nursing? Teaching? Sewing masks? Preaching? Let me know in the comments so we can encourage each other!
-Deborah King
(see other Bible Journaling pages here)