“[The shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. . . But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” – Luke 2:16, 19
When my wife and I read these verses this afternoon, we were thankful for the reminder of the first Christmas. God knows how our hopes and expectations don’t always come to fruition. If you, like us, find yourselves a little disappointed with your inability to achieve a “perfect Christmas” – we encourage you to think back to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
Remember the unwed mother and the difficulty of traveling during the impending pregnancy to a distant town to pay taxes and the stress of not being welcomed into a place to stay. Think of giving birth in a manger. When things aren’t coming together for your Christmas, remember the first Christmas and remember how Christ came to us and how God touched down and rewrote history in the middle of difficulty.
This Christmas, don’t let your hopes and expectations be a reason that you miss the arrival of Christ in the midst of a mess.
-Tim C. Williams