- Luke 2:6-7

 Advent is passing quickly and we’re fast-approaching Christmas! I hope you’re Christmas shopping and other preparations are going well, and you’re not too frazzled by the busyness of the season. Even though stores start Christmas advertising earlier every year, it seems to get busier somehow!

 But, all of our stress is probably nothing compared to Mary’s as she awaited Jesus’ birth. Unmarried, she most likely heard quite a few “whispers” about her pregnancy. Then a decree went out that everyone had to report for a census. Long trips now are stressful - a long trip back then, while pregnant, must have been awful! And then they finally arrive… only to find there was no place for them. She was so close to delivery, and she didn’t have a place to stay. It’s easy for us to forget all of this when we hear the Christmas story.

 Over the years, so many beautiful works of art and moving songs have been written, we tend to sentimentalize the story. But I think it’s good to remember that it wasn’t all great - and yet God carried them through it.

 Particularly if this Christmas is a rough one for some reason. Bad things don’t stop happening around Christmas, and people aren’t always feeling holiday cheer. Yet God carries us through those times, just like he carried the Holy Family through all the obstacles they faced.

 This Christmas, take some time to thank God for his constant care. Thank him for the love that led him to become an infant in a manger, just so we would know God is with us (Emmanuel). Thank him for carrying us through the good and the bad times.

 In Him, Pastor Michelle