December 22, 2022

Advent Devotional December 22, 2022

Scripture

Luke 1:39-48

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,

Devotional

Danielle Kendig, MDiv student

When I began my motherhood journey, I would meet a group of other mothers each week at our local library. Sitting in this large room, we would watch our little ones play while we shared early-stage motherhood stories.

I have carried one of these special moments in my heart for the last nine years. A fellow mom pointed out my oldest, two at the time, sitting on top of a slide. He was gripping the sides of the slide, unsure and peeking around to see if anyone was watching. Nervous, he let go of the sides and slid down with full force. At the bottom, he was grinning ear to ear with pride! Jumping for joy, he made eye contact with me. Knowing his accomplishment, he beamed with innocent self-satisfaction. The fellow mom said, “What a moment to witness! That sweet glimpse of self-satisfaction.” She continued, “At what point in life do we lose this?” She was right. As adults we struggle to allow ourselves the right to grin with pride and jump for joy.

Upon reading the Luke passage, I found my mind back in that library, asking this same question. The innocence of the child in the womb, ‘leaping for joy’, what a sentiment! There are moments in our lives that we are blessed with something so wonderful that it allows for rejoicing. Passing the exams, fellowship with classmates, embracing the Holy Spirit in chapel…all are moments that warrant jumping for joy and rejoicing with the Lord!

Prayer

Gracious Father, we thank you for the moments in our lives where you sneak in the gift of joy. May we continually be encouraged to remember that we deserve to celebrate these moments with you, just as Mary and Elizabeth did those many years ago. We rejoice in the joy that this season brings! Praise and glory be unto you, In Christ’s name, Amen!

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