In one of the more popular Gospel stories about mothers, we hear of two who were both pregnant, and both undergoing difficulty. Elizabeth was old and was now with Child; Mary was not married yet was pregnant; both experienced the miracle of God. Elizabeth was old and barren. Mary conceived her Son through the Holy Spirit. 

What we would like to point out was Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. She traveled around 128 km to Ein Kerem just to be with Elizabeth. In this visit, there were three realities:

1. Service. For Elizabeth, pregnancy during her advanced years in life was difficult. It was a delicate pregnancy. Hence, Mary would assist Elizabeth to ensure she would be able to go through it successfully.
2. Witness. As Mary herself experienced a Miracle in her own pregnancy, her visit to Elizabeth allowed her to witness another miracle. This is a testimony that indeed with God nothing is impossible. 
3. Prayer. With all the uncertainty of the pregnancy, Elizabeth still recognized the presence of God with Mary’s visit. Also with Mary, she was able to proclaim the goodness of the Lord. In other words, in difficult situations most especially, God is just a prayer away. 

In our own lives, this is our prayer as well. God has a plan for each and every one of us and at times, like Elizabeth and Mary, this plan throws a curve ball or alters the course of our life and it can be very difficult. Yet, we continue to serve, we continue to be aware of God’s hand in all things and recourse to our greatest source of strength especially in difficult times – prayer.