Expectations

Christmas, a great time of the year to remember the birth of our Savior, and my favorite time of year. However, this year is a little different.  We were expecting to have a baby this Christmas, now we don't.  We expected to not decorate for Christmas because we didn't have time because we had a baby, and now our house looks amazing.  We expected to be completely exhausted because with a baby, we weren't going to be getting much sleep, we are now rested.  All of these things that we expected to be different aren't going as planned this year.  And as I was thinking about all these expectations that I had for this Christmas, I quickly forgot what Christmas actually is and what we are celebrating.  Just as I had expectations for this Christmas, people thousands of years ago had expectations for this time of year as well.  People knew that at some point, the Savior of the world was going to come down from heaven and save all man kind.  They expected this mighty warrior, strong and mighty, with armor and a big sword.  They got a baby.  A tiny little baby.  In a barn.  In a food trough.  Laying in hay and ragged cloths.  Surrounded by farm animals.  Not at all what they expected.  However, this baby, in all of its innocence, as the song says, "would one day rule the nations."  Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of World, came as a small baby, which no one expected.

My Christmas, is not what I expected.  And while my wife did not give birth to the Messiah,  my baby is also changing my life.  She is impacting my life in a way that I never would have expected.  She is hopefully impacting people who I do not even know.  Impacting lives across the world.  People hearing about God's love through her and giving hope.

As I think about Faith this Christmas time, I am a little jealous.  She gets to celebrate Christmas in heaven.  And while they probably don't have a Christmas tree, or presents, or christmas lights, I like to hope there is a birthday cake with streamers, and confetti.  My daughter gets to spend "Christmas" with the birthday boy.  Learning how to make a snow angel from Gabriel (imagine how awesome that snow angel would be) and celebrating with everyone.  While I am very sad that I do not get to spend Christmas with my little girl, I get a little happier thinking about what she is witnessing right now.