Here we are.
It’s Christmas Eve.
So much has gone into planning and preparation. The stage has been set and it’s time for the Big Day.
Tomorrow is Christmas.
There is a lot of pressure for everything to go right. There are a lot of expectations that have been set. There is a fear that lurks in the shadows whispering: “What if it goes wrong?” “What if I am not ready?” “What if there isn’t enough?”
And there have been plenty of times this has been the case — whether it be reality or expectations that have soared too high — we all have been disappointed or have disappointed, and it’s easy to wonder if anything turned out right.
I can only imagine that Mary and Joseph had similar feelings.
Talk about disappointment and the shattering of expectations!
These newlyweds were about to have a baby, no family around, and they couldn’t even find a place to stay for the night.
Stressed and tired from the heavy traffic into Bethlehem, I am sure they were asking themselves: “What if it goes wrong?” “What if I am not ready?” “What if there isn’t enough?”
So as you prepare for a Christmas service or a Christmas dinner, think about that night, the night, that Jesus came from Heaven to earth.
I am sure Mary and Joseph felt like so much was going wrong, I am sure it wasn’t silent, but in the end?
Well, you know how the story goes…
Merry Christmas.
[ This post was inspired by Labor of Love from Andrew Peterson’s Behold The Lamb of God ]
[Video via YouTube]
Lyrics
It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David’s town
And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother’s hand to hold
It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
Noble Joseph by her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David’s town
In the middle of the night
So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move
It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love
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