Read Luke 2:1–7
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
As I read today’s verses, I can’t help but put myself in Mary’s shoes. I cannot imagine what she must have been thinking. I am a mother of three wonderful children, and none of their births went as I expected. The oldest required an unplanned C-section, the second came with an unexpected doctor change and the loss of medical records, and the last one came so quickly that I hardly knew what was happening. But I am certain Mary never dreamed that her first child would be born far from home, with no real lodging or the things needed for a newborn baby… and let’s not forget that it’s God’s Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. I think it is safe to say that none of it was how Mary envisioned the birth of her first child. Mary would have probably arranged things a little differently if it were up to her, but Mary and Joseph trusted God even though they may not have understood His plan. As a result, salvation came down from heaven in the form of a little boy.
Let’s stop and consider things in our lives where we don’t understand God’s timing; where we would have planned it differently. How can we lean into what God is doing and set aside our plans? What beautiful thing is in the making if we can trust God’s timing and God’s plan?
