(Our church is beginning a bible study for the next 7 weeks leading up to Easter.  We are using a book that has taken the 4 Gospels of the New Testament and smooshed the accounts of Jesus’ life that Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote about and put them together chronologically to read as one story.  Genius!  Click here if you are curious about this small, handy, and convenient little book.  My writings over the next weeks will reference what sections of this book I am reading.  If you don’t have the book – no problem!  You are surely familiar with the Jesus stories I write about.  Reading them again always gives fresh meaning and life to God’s word.)

Sections 1.1-1.4
The Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

The day after Amanda died I actually went to work.  Amanda went to heaven early Sunday morning, October 12, 2014.  I think I was probably so much in shock that I set my gears on automatic and thought that going to work Monday morning would help me feel normal.  I wasn’t feeling normal because losing a daughter is not normal.  I made it through my work day at the surgical center, but I felt like I was in a bubble.  The shockwave of watching my daughter die had me feeling such a rare and awful mix of feelings.  From her recent illnesses and all the other experiences of the previous 31 years of her life, I was feeling like I was in a world, or a bubble, of my own where no one else had ever ventured.  As I made my way out of the building at the end of my Monday work day, I was stopped by Brad – a man who worked at our center as a handyman and driver for patients.  I can’t remember anything he said until, “….well, when MY daughter died …”.  Wait.  What?  Brad had lost a daughter?  POP went my bubble.  I had never heard Brad talk before about his daughter who had died.  Here was someone else who met my need that day, and popped my bubble that had locked me into a painful, lonely world of parents who had sent children ahead to heaven.

Mary, Jesus’ mother, probably felt like she was in a bubble.  She was a virgin and yet pregnant with God’s son!  Who was going to believe her?  Thank goodness an angel had visited Joseph as well, so he knew and believed God’s plan for his wife.  But who did Mary have to talk to?  (Besides Joseph, of course, but sometimes a girl just needs a girlfriend!)  If she were to confide in the girls in her peer group, they would probably be rolling their eyes and talking behind her back.  But Mary had a cousin, Elizabeth, who also had a miracle from God.  She had been unable to conceive and after many years she was gifted a son:  John the Baptist.  Mary probably went to visit her cousin as soon as she heard about the pregnancy.  Elizabeth was the wife of a priest and described as a “righteous and blameless” person.  When the two women got together, Elizabeth’s baby leapt for joy at the presence of the Christ child, growing in Mary’s womb.  POP went Mary’s bubble!  Elizabeth had no reason to doubt the news Mary brought, as the 2 women shared their miracle stories.  Mary had a pregnant friend, a cousin (family!) and an older wiser woman to confide in and support her.

Almost 10 years later I am working at a different surgical center.  I have a co-worker with a special needs daughter; not exactly like Amanda, but with multiple issues.  My co-worker would sometimes talk about her daughter’s recent hospitalization or challenges.  Her sweet daughter got 12 years on earth and has gone ahead to heaven.  My friend has struggled.  Stuck in a bubble.  When I first saw her after her daughter passed, there were no words between us.  We just fell into each other’s arms.  And wept.  POP went her bubble.  She didn’t have to feel so alone. 

We have an amazing God.  He is always there to hear our praise, our petitions, our thanks, or our cries for help.  But He is such a wise God and knows that we need friends here on earth to walk with us in our time of need.  How miraculous and wonderful that God planned for Elizabeth’s miracle pregnancy to give confidence and comfort to Mary.  Amazing how he fits all those pieces together!

Remember, the experiences you have had may pop the bubble someone else is trapped in.  Or have you also had someone reach out when you felt alone and stuck in your own bubble?  It’s not all coincidence.  God is a great planner!

just Laurel