"Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home."
Once again, Mary proves what a smart, proactive woman she was.
I'll take some interpretative liberty this morning but as I imagine her situation, spending nine pregnant months at home with her family of origin and community perhaps wouldn't have been the most nourishing. We don't know how they processed what was going on with Mary. We do know Joseph was "afraid" and had decided to "quietly" terminate their marriage plans until the angels personally appeared to him. Darn, those interfering angels! Apparently, they are very convincing.
So, what does Mary do with the long gestational wait ahead of her? The clever woman takes a time out.
She visits the home where she will be believed and NOURISHED. Now we're getting to the point of Day 16. NOURISHMENT.
When was the last time you made a conscious decision to nourish yourself? NOT your children, spouse, significant other or client?
Here's the truth: The time is never right and there is never enough of it.
IF you are a mom, you could create an excuse list a mile long. I've seen many of them and made them myself. Only to regret it later when I was gasping for a breath of fresh air that would sink into the depths of my heart and soul and toes for that matter.
Several years ago, it finally hit me that I could essentially put myself on hold for the next 13 years which is how long it would have taken to get my youngest daughter off to university, beauty school or where ever she decided to go at the age of 18. I was tired and hungry for something MORE (one space opened last night). I'll admit it, more than who I was as a mom. Don't get me wrong, I loved being a mom but the spirit was calling out for me to relinquish some of my mommy energy to speak gifts of healing to a broader audience. The hurdles were/ARE infinite as each opportunity to nourish my call presented/s itself.
Each one of us has a choice to make about how we spend our time. The spiritual truth is that each one of us needs to nourish our physical, spiritual and mental selves.
Know what feels nourishing and schedule it regularly. From the minutia to the panoramas of life.
Quiet moments. Meditation, prayer.
A lingering lunch with a friend.
A luxurious bath instead of a nano second shower.
Riotous dancing. (my new and dear friend loves to dance and it's obvious it feeds her soul in a beautiful way)
A glass of port to toast day's end.
Physical exercise or sport.
An uninterrupted conversation with your significant other (kids really can learn NOT to interrupt and they can entertain themselves for 30 minutes to an hour). I double dog dare you to try, even little ones. If you need tips, call me, your sanity depends upon conquering this if you're a mom to young children.
Purposefully choosing how to spend yearly vacation time that feels nourishing not taxing.
Make a personal nourishment list and delete activities in life which are absolutely voluntary to make room for the nourishing ones. It's not as easy as it seems. Remember the hurdles. They will pop up and you'll have to muster the strength and will to jump over them. Be determined.
Mary must have had a variety of factors motivating her three month stay at the home of Elizabeth. I wonder if the need to nourish her body, soul and mind must have been on the top of her list.
