“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” – Luke 2:4-5


Read Luke 2:4-5. You may not think anything about traveling to another town being difficult. You probably do it fairly often. But Mary and Joseph’s journey was much more difficult and uncertain than you think. They had to ride an animal the whole way, endure the weather, worry about bandits on the road, and find somewhere to stay the night. And then Jesus came. Suddenly, Mary and Joseph were put in an even tougher spot on their journey. They had to improvise and do it quickly.


That's the way life is sometimes; you don't know what the journey will hold. Sometimes, it will be full of excitement and promise — other times, full of fear and uncertainty. The
first Christmas may very well have been nothing like we imagine it to be. I bet a lot of your Christmases are similar in that way. It just doesn’t look like the television shows and Christmas cards portray it. It’s messy, rarely goes as planned, and can be pretty tough to deal with sometimes. We can become disappointed because we subscribe to expectations that are not based on realities but on ideals.


No matter where you are in your journey or what your Christmas looks like, be encouraged that God is with you. That doesn’t mean the journey will be any easier or go as planned. It just means that no matter what happens, you will never journey alone. So this Christmas, let's lower the expectations and instead have grace, peace, and hope for imperfect people and families.



QUESTIONS:


What's the one thing you expect to happen every year around Christmas?


How can you have grace and joy even when Christmas doesn't meet your expectation?