Managing Expectations

"This is just going to be the best Christmas EVER!" Except, something inevitably goes wrong.

This time of year, a lot of us are dealing with high expectations: a perfectly trimmed tree, perfectly behaved toddlers, a mountain of gifts under the tree, etc., etc. And more than likely these expectations won’t be met. And that's ok.

Do you think Mary had expectations for Jesus’s birth? I doubt she had planned or expected to give birth in a barn. I doubt she was thrilled that she had to lay her newborn son, the Son of God most High, in a horse trough.

Childbirth in Mary’s days was a special time that would often be attended by other women and then the baby would be ceremonially bathed. Mary had only Joseph, and it’s unlikely they had the resources to give Jesus a special bath.

I wonder if she felt guilty that she couldn’t give Jesus, the Son of God, better. Regardless of Mary’s plans. God had a plan. The humble beginnings of the Savior were all by design. So it’s ok if your Christmas isn’t perfect, because the first Christmas, by human standards, was anything but.