2nd Advent Candle: Faith and Expectations

“To wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect”

Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

³⁴ Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? ³⁵ And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶ And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. ³⁷ For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Luke 1:34-38

Expectations

What are your expectations this season? Every year that I put up a Christmas tree I expect that the cats will bat at ornaments, chew on the fake greenery, and threaten to climb the tree…again. Still, I put up the tree because there is just something lovely about a Christmas tree with all the memories and expectations of the season. We expect a Hallmark Christmas Movie (which I do love), but sometimes we get The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

If you’re not familiar with this little book, I strongly suggest reading it. Along with A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, this little book gives a different perspective to the Christmas story because it is seen through the eyes of a group of children who have never heard it before. Let’s just say the plans and expectations of the pageant director are turned upside down but in a glorious way. The unruly children disrupt the careful plans much like God often disrupts our carefully laid plans.

Faith

Like us, Mary and Joseph had plans. They were engaged to be married and probably making plans for their future. Suddenly, an angel pops in to tell her she is pregnant by the Holy Ghost. Talk about a disruption. In His Divine goodness and wisdom, God sent an angel to Joseph as well. So, they move past this sudden change and readjust their plans.

Then, the government threw a wrench in the works and demanded them to go to Bethlehem for the census. I’m sure Mary had plans of waiting for the baby’s arrival in their snug home. Instead, they have to travel by donkey to Bethlehem only to find there are no rooms available. They end up in a stable.

Despite all their careful preparations and expectations, the birth of Jesus came about in a messy and miraculous way. It didn’t come about as they expected, but it did come about as God had planned it. They had expectations, and in the end God exceeded those expectations beyond what they ever imagined.

Perspective

We get caught up in our own expectations of how something should go, whether it’s a party or a career. When things don’t go according to our plan, we are often prone to frustration and disappointment. However, some of the best times of my life were the result of a disruption of my plan by God. Often, we actually set the bar too low. With God anything is possible but we often make requests for good when God wants to do great, spectacular, and never before seen.

So, when the cat climbs the tree, the kids eat the gingerbread house, or unexpected visitors unravel your plans, take a step back and look for God in the moment. Maybe the disruption is God trying to get your attention, or maybe He’s trying to do something even greater than you had planned.

Like a kids’ Christmas pageant gone haywire, the end result is often laughter, joy, and hope, which probably would not have happened if things had gone according to our plans. We have to learn to go with the flow of the Holy Spirit and expect the unexpected.

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