Once in a while at Christmastime I catch myself complaining. (I’ll wait until you catch your breath. I know the shock of that opening statement is hard for you to believe!) My complaints and comments usually center around little things….. inconveniences, mainly.
Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love Christmas, and I love doing what I do. Still, sometimes I hear myself saying….."I don't need this now!," or "Why does this have to happen to me?”, “Who planned this extra rehearsal?...Oops, I did!”, or “Why is God doing this? Is He mad at me?"
Then my thoughts turn to Mary and Joseph. Face it. Their story doesn't center on sugar cookies, Christmas musical productions, or last minute Christmas shopping.
Joseph was off work for weeks because the government made him travel to a distant town to fill out some stupid registration papers.
You can bet the Nazareth biddies hounded Mary about her pregnancy. If there was an Aramaic word for "slut", it was probably being bantered around at the local well and market place, with Mary being the object of their judgment and ridicule.
Can you imagine taking a four-day donkey ride to Bethlehem at full term? Of course, if Mary didn't want to ride, she could always walk ... or waddle.
Think about a camping trip with winter winds whistling through your tent. Or do you have a tent?
How about being in labor in a dirty cattle barn? One whiff was all Mary needed. And then, in the middle of the night after a grueling labor, there are herdsmen banging on the door.
Why, of all things, did God let His own Son to be born under those conditions? Was God mad at Mary and Joseph? Of course not. Maybe God allowed the stable so we could see His glory backlit in the middle of life's humbling experiences.
Life does have it’s downside, it’s reversals, it’s annoyances. And where is God when we despair? He was with Mary and Joseph every moment, working out His plan, just as He is with you and me right now.
I guess Christmas reminds us look to beyond our aggravations. God is in the middle of doing something awesome in our lives. If we all take the time to shift our gaze from the mirror to the manger, we all might just catch a glimpse.
Selah.
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