Let’s continue our thinking about Mary and Joseph, in that cold, dark stable in Bethlehem many years ago. The baby has been born, they are holding him, loving Him, and wondering what to do next.

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” John 1:14

Then as they look into his sleeping face, the doubts creep in: He looked like an ordinary child. Could this infant really be God? They may have thought that, somehow, deity would look different from this.

Sometimes when God directs us, we start on the path and then, when things don’t turn out exactly as we thought they would, we begin to doubt whether we heard God correctly. Did He really direct us? Did we misunderstand something?

That’s when God will reassure us if we let Him. For Mary and Joseph, God sent shepherds. Their coming to tell of angelic visitors most certainly would have quieted any doubts they had.

But after the joy, the wonder, the doubt, and the reassurance, Joseph and Mary must have been saying, “What now, Lord? How do we live with God in our arms? At our table? In our home?”

We might as the same question:  Jesus is still with us. How do we live with Him in our hearts, houses, and workplaces? The best way: in anticipation. With God among us, we sit on the edge of our seats, looking for His fingerprints, asking what He wants of us, and wondering what He will do next. We learn that, when God is with us, amazing things can happen. Watch for it!

“Christmas has lost its meaning for us because we have lost the spirit of expectancy. We cannot prepare for an observance. We must prepare for an experience.” Handel Brown