Have you ever had someone steal your thunder?
You know, upstage you? Steal your spotlight? Rain on your parade?
Surely I’m not the only one.
Not long after I graduated from college (magna cum laude and with highest honors, I might add), guess what happened. My little sister, only 19 at the time, got engaged.
Nothing can scream, “Magna cum what?” faster than a dog-eared copy of Bride’s magazine thrown in your lap. Sure, I had a degree, but did I have a fiancé? Nope.
Hello, 9-1-1? Someone just stole my thunder!
That wasn’t the first time my thunder was stolen, and I’m sure it won’t be the last either. And I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar yourself.
Maybe you finally lost those last five pounds after working your tail off for six months, when your neighbor suddenly loses fifteen without even trying. Maybe you finally get a job and your friend gets a huge promotion. Maybe you’re at your bridal shower when your cousin announces her pregnancy. Or maybe you move into a new house and your sister becomes a grandmother.
Because those moments of thunder are not everyday occurrences, you naturally want all of the celebration, fanfare, and hoopla to last as long as possible. So when something comes along that seems to overshadow your awesome experience, it can be pretty difficult to accept the transfer of attention with a genuine smile.
Or at least it is for me.
And perhaps that is why, at Christmas time, I always think about Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, and his birth was truly a miraculous event in the Bible. But we don’t hear that much about it because you know what happened right after that?
The birth of Jesus.
That’s great that you had a son after a long life of infertility, Elizabeth, but did you give birth to the Messiah? No? Alrighty then.
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to take a closer look at the Christmas story, but we’re going to look at it from Elizabeth’s point of view. How did Jesus’s birth affect her? What was it like from the outside looking in, and how did she react?
If you’ve ever had your thunder stolen, you won’t want to miss this series!
Q: What are your initial thoughts about Elizabeth?
Emily, You just amaze me with your stories, and abilities to do all that you do. I am so inspired by you. God has given you great talents, and you utilize them. Thank you for your inspiration each week. What an incredible Godly woman you are!
Thank you, Sherry! That is so sweet!
From early on, as a child, I was put into “”competition”” areas & I didn’t even want to be there. It continued on into my adult life & then finally one sweet day I found out “””I””” was pregnant. After 7 years of waiting “””I””” was going to have a child. Absolutely NOTHING else could have stolen my “thunder”. But then in retrospect afew years later, I fully realized that it wasn’t MY thunder but God’s divine intervention in my life, LITERALLY, saving my life. Ask me in the hallways & I will happily share my, very long, story with you………it took me a number of years to fully understand that there is but ONE thunder and I can have it BUT I’m NOT in control of it. SO. I think Elizabeth truly didn’t care. She had her baby & I’m thinking she was just simply GRATEFUL. 😉
I agree. I think Elizabeth had a very clear perspective of the big picture and was therefore very grateful to be a part of it!