Chapter 2

After about 45 minutes I got to tell Liz my story so far.

"And that's how I ended up here," I concluded. Liz once again nodded. "How did you find out about your baby?" I asked.

She raised her cup to her lips, and trying to think of how to put it, she started biting it. An old habit of hers. "Well," she set the cup down, "you remember that Zachariah is a priest?" I nodded. "Well, it was his turn to go into the Most Holy Place to burn incense. When he was in there, an angel appeared and said to him and said, 'Don't be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayers. Your wife Elizabeth will have a son, and you must name him John. His birth will make you very happy, and many people will be glad. Your son will be a great servant of the Lord. He must never drink wine or beer, and the power of the Holy Spirit will be with him from the time he is born.

John will lead many people in Israel to turn back to the Lord their God. He will go ahead of the Lord with the same power and spirit that Elijah had. And because of John, parents will be more thoughtful of their children. And people who now disobey God will begin to think as they ought to. That is how John will get people ready for the Lord.'

He was pretty freaked out. He said, 'How will I know this is going to happen? My wife and I are both very old.' Then the angel shook his head and said 'I am Gabriel, God's servant, and I was sent to tell you this good news. You have not believed what I have said. So you will not be able to say a thing until all this happens. But everything will take place when it is supposed to.' So he came out, and he couldn't talk. But even the priests could tell he had a vision. When he could leave the temple, he came home, wrote it down, and showed it to me."

I nodded and responded, "So how did you react?"

"Well, I didn't leave the house until now. I said 'What the Lord has done for me will keep people from looking down on me.'" She looked out the window. "Zachariah will be here any minute now."

I nodded once more and took another sip of my water. Then the door flew open. As I saw the person, or people, standing in the doorway, I stood straight up. "Mom?"

There she was, standing firm, with Zachariah standing next to her, hunched over. Elizabeth went and pulled him in.

Mom came in, closed the door, and came next to me. "I just wanted to see why you left. I met Zachariah on the way." She went to Liz and hugged her. "Congrats on the baby." Liz looked at her in a certain, confused look. "Zachariah signed everything to me." My thoughts were bothering me. I should tell her now, I thought.

After a deep breath I got up and walked over to Mom. "Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

"Well, what is it?"

I started getting hot and itchy all over. Go on, my conscience urged. Dear God, please let her understand! And please help me find the words. I'm nervous enough already. Another deep breath, "I'm pregnant."

"What?" she almost fainted on the spot. She soon recovered and asked, "How?"

I thought and opened my mouth. "An angel visited me and said that I was pregnant with the Messiah. He said that I should name him Jesus and his kingdom will never end. Then he told me that Cousin Elizabeth was pregnant to and then he left," I said very quickly. Yes, I tend to talk very fast when nervous and/or want to get a point across.

Mom shook her head. "I can't believe you, Mary. Using the common lie that every girl uses." Back then, all the girls my age dreamed about giving birth to the Messiah. So, you can guess the rest. So Mom was going to give me a full blown lecture for something I didn't do, and then I would be in BIG trouble. To explain, she'd probably report me to the priests and/or rabbis and have me stoned to death. Either that or she'd disown me and kick me out.

"No, she's telling the truth." Elizabeth went next to me. "Even when she came and said hi, my baby jumped inside me for joy."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Mom looked at her, the bulge of her stomach, and then looked at me. Then my stomach. Then me.

"I'm sorry, Mary. It's just that, it seems like it'll never come." Mom held my hand. "You are truly blessed with this Child."

Zachariah nodded as he grabbed a writing pad and scribbled on it and passed it to Liz.

She said, "Zachariah says, 'God has blessed you. May He help you in the time ahead.'"

I nodded. "Thank you." And thank You.

"Wow, that's intense," Katie set the paper down.

"Next chapter?" Jason stuck his arm out.

"Ok, but I need to get more candy." Katie stood up and dropped the paper on Jason's lap. "I ate it all." She rushed to the kitchen as she shouted, "WAIT FOR ME!"