So I’ve had a pretty turmultous couple of weeks. As a matter of fact, there were a few times I wanted to just get in the car and “drive.” You know what I mean… fill the tank up, grab a Starbucks, get behind the wheel and just drive until you’re so tired you have to pull over no matter where you end up. But I didn’t. Somehow, God gave me the strength to get through everything I was feeling and facing – and this morning I find myself thankful.

I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be a young girl, betrothed to the one she loved, then called by God to carry His child, then faced with a 70 mile journey on a donkey during the last month of that important pregnancy! And I think I have issues!

Mary’s faith and character have been a quiet reminder for me as I face the challenges I have in my own world. God seems to give us just enough of what we need when we need it to not just “get through” but to also keep our focus on Him in the process. I heard this from someone once…

God help me to give up worshipping the god of my expectations.

I know that this is a struggle for me. I like to have a plan and I expect to execute that plan. When things don’t quite go the way I envisioned, I can tend to get a bit crabby. And when several things don’t go as planned, I find myself swimming in the sea for the overwhelmed, bobbing up and down, trying to catch a few breaths of air.

I know we don’t have insight into Mary’s entire pregnancy, but it sure seems to me that she responds in a completely different way to all of her circumstances. I would guess that she didn’t expect to have to travel during her last month. I would guess that she wouldn’t have expected to give birth in a dusty, dirty stable. I would guess that she would of expected the birth of God’s Son to be a royal party not a humble occasion in the middle of the night. But she just waited and responded in the moment with faith in God and for His sovereign plan.

I want to be like her. God help me.