December 23rd, 2020
By Lani Cole-Mitchell
This year has certainly been one that none of us expected.
I rang in 2020 with a surprise proposal from my now husband, Chuck. We started 2020 with planning a wedding and our future together. The planning changed so frequently throughout the year that we ended up having a smaller wedding (Covid-style) with less people in attendance and social distancing guidelines in place. We even live-streamed it on Facebook for my parents and our friends and family who couldn’t attend.
We had no idea what God had planned for us.
We make plans when in reality, God’s plan is always bigger than us.
Wasn’t that the same for Mary?
Mary was a young woman, faithful to God, and engaged to be married. Her plans were set. Then God sent an angel with news that disrupted her life in ways that were unimaginable and unbelievable in that time.
Luke 1:30-33 says: “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’”
From that moment on, things changed. God’s plan was bigger than Mary and her plans. Mary answered God’s call and her life changed in extraordinary ways. When we answer God’s call, we are opening our hearts and our lives to an unexpected Christ. As a follower of Christ, we are saying yes to embracing the unknown and our ordinary lives turn into something extraordinary.
Mary was an ordinary girl living an ordinary life, but aren’t we all? I feel as though we can all relate to Mary in these moments. We all have families, jobs, friends, plans….then 2020 happened. In reality, God is in control. God’s got us through the ups and downs that this year has brought. The ball is in our court to either let the downs get the best of us, or embrace God’s presence and His plan.
God meets us exactly where we need him most. At work, taking care of our children who excitedly wait for Christmas day, while driving in the car, at the grocery store, even while folding laundry - the ordinary places in our lives. He is calling us to trust him and lean on him, even when we are desperately clutching to be in control of what is happening in those moments of our lives. In those ordinary places, God is working in extraordinary ways.
As with Mary, God met her where she needed him most, and she didn’t even realize it. She was created to be Jesus’ mother. Mary was planning to be the wife of a carpenter. Little did she know that she was to be the mother of the Savior of the world. God’s plans were truly bigger, and those plans gave us Jesus. King of Kings. Lord of Lords.
As Christmas approaches us in the chaos that is 2020, I encourage you to pause. Take a moment and reflect on this year. In between the frustrations and celebrations, God is present and embracing you. My prayer is that in those moments that were the most difficult and dark, you will see the light of Jesus shining through. On that most holy night, as the birth of Jesus changed Mary’s life forever, his birth also changed the world. For that, I am so grateful.
This year has certainly been one that none of us expected.
I rang in 2020 with a surprise proposal from my now husband, Chuck. We started 2020 with planning a wedding and our future together. The planning changed so frequently throughout the year that we ended up having a smaller wedding (Covid-style) with less people in attendance and social distancing guidelines in place. We even live-streamed it on Facebook for my parents and our friends and family who couldn’t attend.
We had no idea what God had planned for us.
We make plans when in reality, God’s plan is always bigger than us.
Wasn’t that the same for Mary?
Mary was a young woman, faithful to God, and engaged to be married. Her plans were set. Then God sent an angel with news that disrupted her life in ways that were unimaginable and unbelievable in that time.
Luke 1:30-33 says: “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.’”
From that moment on, things changed. God’s plan was bigger than Mary and her plans. Mary answered God’s call and her life changed in extraordinary ways. When we answer God’s call, we are opening our hearts and our lives to an unexpected Christ. As a follower of Christ, we are saying yes to embracing the unknown and our ordinary lives turn into something extraordinary.
Mary was an ordinary girl living an ordinary life, but aren’t we all? I feel as though we can all relate to Mary in these moments. We all have families, jobs, friends, plans….then 2020 happened. In reality, God is in control. God’s got us through the ups and downs that this year has brought. The ball is in our court to either let the downs get the best of us, or embrace God’s presence and His plan.
God meets us exactly where we need him most. At work, taking care of our children who excitedly wait for Christmas day, while driving in the car, at the grocery store, even while folding laundry - the ordinary places in our lives. He is calling us to trust him and lean on him, even when we are desperately clutching to be in control of what is happening in those moments of our lives. In those ordinary places, God is working in extraordinary ways.
As with Mary, God met her where she needed him most, and she didn’t even realize it. She was created to be Jesus’ mother. Mary was planning to be the wife of a carpenter. Little did she know that she was to be the mother of the Savior of the world. God’s plans were truly bigger, and those plans gave us Jesus. King of Kings. Lord of Lords.
As Christmas approaches us in the chaos that is 2020, I encourage you to pause. Take a moment and reflect on this year. In between the frustrations and celebrations, God is present and embracing you. My prayer is that in those moments that were the most difficult and dark, you will see the light of Jesus shining through. On that most holy night, as the birth of Jesus changed Mary’s life forever, his birth also changed the world. For that, I am so grateful.
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