Hurry. What comes to mind when I say that word? I’m guessing it does not evoke a positive thought or a warm feeling. “Hurry up” is something we say to our children on the way to school but certainly not a sentiment we hope to find on our Christmas cards. During this Advent season, amid the hustle and bustle of life, our hearts long for anything but more hurry. And yet, in the Christmas story, we find this very word tucked into the narrative in Luke 1.

After the angel brought Mary news that would change the world – and undoubtedly her life – she made time for contemplation. Scripture tells us she pondered these things in her heart. But she did not choose inaction. She did not retreat into isolation. Many of us might have said, “Lord, I’m going to need a minute alone here.” But not Mary.

After the angel appears to her, verses 39-40 say: “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.”

She hurried, but why? Mary needed a safe place to land. So she hurried toward love – an unconditional, God-inspired love found in the presence of another woman who would believe her, pray for her, and affirm what God was doing in and through her. Elizabeth herself was living out a miraculous pregnancy, so who better to receive Mary? And it was truly a momentous meeting. Elizabeth greeted her with joy, open arms, and Holy Spirit-filled encouragement.

In that sacred exchange, we discover a powerful truth: women are not meant to carry God’s call alone. We are created to walk together – celebrating, strengthening, and lifting one another up as we respond to God’s invitation to be instruments of miraculous impact in our homes, churches, and communities.

This Christmas, may Mary and Elizabeth’s story remind us of the gift of community – a gift we still have access to today. As I have traveled around the world, it is the strength and witness of women standing together, even in the most difficult of circumstances, that inspires me to keep running this race of faith one step at a time. As God continues to birth new dreams and new callings within us, may we hurry toward one another with the same eagerness – ready to share, ready to listen, ready to love, and ready to say, “Blessed are you … the Lord is with you.”

May the grace of a hand to hold on this journey be one of the greatest gifts we give and receive this season. On behalf of Baptist World Alliance Women and our beautiful sisterhood in more than 150 countries and territories across the globe, Merry Christmas!