When Plans Get Derailed

Mary and Joseph had a lot of different plans that got derailed. For starters, they planned on getting married. I don’t know about you, but if I were Joseph and my fiancé showed up one day and said “Listen, an angel came to me last night and told me I was going to give birth to the Messiah...still wanna get married?” I also would need a visit from an angel to tell me not to leave her in the dust. We’re so familiar with this story that sometimes we forget that this had never happened before! This was not something they could even plan for! 

Not only is Mary now pregnant, but they have to go to Bethlehem to be a part of a census that an oppressive government said they had to do. Also not part of the plan! If you haven’t had the chance to experience pregnancy, it is a double-edged sword. I love my son and I’m so grateful to have another one on the way, but the act of being pregnant (for me anyway) is just awful. I’ll spare you the worst of it, but even if you’re out of the dreaded first trimester, you could still be nauseous for any reason, the heartburn makes you want to never eat again, AND you’ve got this wonderful life you’re building kicking all your vital organs at anytime of day or night (talk about feeling unappreciated!). Try doing that and riding a donkey on an uneven road with no nice rest stops along the way in the desert from here to Cañon City! 

That is like fruitcake at Christmas dinner: thank you for the offer but I will pass.

The events that had to happen for Jesus to come into the world were incredibly disruptive to Mary and Joseph.  I wonder how often the hardships caused them to lose sight of just what was happening to them.  I’m sure Joseph wanted Mary’s first child to be his, for starters, but to also be named after him or someone in his family.  I wonder how many times Mary felt like she wasn’t ready to be a mother let alone the mother of the Messiah.  It can be so easy to focus on the disruption, the things that don’t go according to plan.  

In Luke 14:28 Jesus talks about how it makes sense to make plans.  However, along with this verse, we have  Proverbs 16:3, which says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.”  God’s plans will always supersede ours. As hard as it may be, our best choice is to surrender our plans to His plan.  

What if Mary had said no?  What if Joseph decided they would rebel against the government and not go to Bethlehem?  What if they had decided their plans were more important?  How often have you had plans that have been thrown in the trash only to find the interruption is way better than what you had planned?

I wasn’t old enough to appreciate my sister’s birth when it happened.  But she changed my family forever.  She and I used to live together and last year she moved to Portland.  Knowing I can’t drive 20 minutes to her apartment and hang out is hard; there is definitely a hole there.  This year will be the first year we don’t get to celebrate her birthday with her.  I miss her being so close. I am absolutely old enough now to appreciate her and the special derailment of my 5th Christmas.  

This season is hard for a lot of people for a lot of reasons: during special times and the making of plans, loss is often felt more intensely.  I think it’s important to take the time to grieve: grieve the loss of the loved one, the loss of the plan, the loss of the old life.  Then commit it to God.  You may have to do this multiple times throughout this season, and that’s okay.  

In the end, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment, changing our plans to fit God’s plan always works out for the best.