This year as I have reflected on the Biblical Christmas story, I see that this beloved story is absolutely full of interruptions. Things not going as planned. Dreams crushed or altered. Maybe it is my own interrupted Christmas – this year and last year - that has caused me to see the hard side of the Christmas story and identify with the characters of this treasured story in their interrupted lives. My heart aches with Zechariah and Elizabeth as they year after year ask God for a child only to live in a home empty of the laughter of children. I can feel the pain and shock of Joseph learning that his beloved and godly fiancé is pregnant. I wonder at the resolve of Mary to forgo her wedding plans to carry the Christ child. I chuckle at the shepherds having their work plans totally messed up by an army of angels.
When God’s plan crossed the plans of each of these people, their lives were turned upside down. At first it might have been painful, frightening, disappointing or just plain frustrating. But in the end, God’s plan was the best plan and as each person surrendered to God the result was simply glorious.
