hallowed 'grounds'

Gosh. Today has been a whirlwind of activity. Except for the fact that I had to take two showers due to the extreme heat, it was quite a pleasant day.

A friend of mine came over for coffee after dropping her kids off at school. T'was great to sit and enjoy a cup o' joe with a friend. Yep. That ranks on up there as one of my favorite things. Coffee with a friend. Yum.
After she and I got nearly half-way caught up on all that has happened since we saw each other last, she, King, #'s 4 & 5, and I went to Mass. Today is the Feast of the Assumption. It is the day that the Church celebrates Our Holy Mother, a faithful servant, being assumed body and soul into Heaven. What a fantastic reward for saying "yes" to God when He really needed her the most! Not only that, but going along with the rest of His plan, which was no doubt the hardest part.

I often wonder what it must have been like to have been Mary's friend. No doubt she was a true friend, as evidenced by the generous gift of time she spent with her cousin, Elizabeth. But, I wonder what they did together. I wonder if they spent time chatting over a cup of... well... whatever they drank, talking about pregnancy and feeling babies moving (my personal favorite thing about being pregnant). Wonder if they laughed about Elizabeth's bellybutton as it turned inside out? I wonder, too, if Mary had a deja-vu moment when she heard Elizabeth say, "Blessed art thou among women", since she had heard this very same thing from Gabriel. I wonder if this visit with her cousin helped reassure her that she had done the right thing instead of saying, "Hmmm....hey, Joseph, just what was in that hummus we had for dinner?!?! It gave me nightmares! You're not going to believe this dream I had..."

It is a given that each woman had her faith in God strengthened by the other. Such beautiful scripture is Mary's song, the Magnificat. I am sure that they must've spent a lot of time discussing God's plan and rejoicing over how magnificent He is. Good friends do just that - they strengthen each other's faith. They lift you up - a gift, of sorts, that is exchanged each time you are together. Helping each other get to Heaven, our goal. Paradise. Home. Where there is endless rejoicing and unbeatable java! mmmm...!