1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census
should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of
Syria.) 3 All returned to their own towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go
to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village
of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took
with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be
born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him
snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room
for them in the village inn.
Luke 2:1-7
Expectations
can be tricky things. Sometimes we base
our plans on those strong beliefs that something will happen or someone will
behave in a certain way in the future.
When those expectations are unmet we tend to become frustrated,
disappointed, angry or even bitter. In
this blog today I’d like to finish our initial journey from Newburgh to
Illinois and close with something Brad reminded RCC about just a week later from
the platform, and both deal with expectations.
I hope it will encourage and challenge you as much as it did me and help
you reflect on our Savior, the greatest gift ever given.
Saturday,
December 1, we woke up at the Hampton Inn in Evansville and I was packing up
our rooms while Brad got the children breakfast downstairs. In a very short time he returns to the room
and informs me his cell phone was stolen at breakfast. This was not exactly a good start to the day
and was not anything we expected.
Nonetheless, it happened. The
search was on. We asked others in the
breakfast area if they had seen it. We
asked the front desk staff if someone had turned it in. Brad deactivated the phone, and others helped
join in the search. Eventually, about 30
minutes later, the phone was found near the elevators. We think the person who took it just decided
it wasn’t worth the trouble. Fortunately,
we found the phone. Unfortunately, we
were now about an hour behind schedule.
We had a group from RCC meeting us at 1 p.m. to help us unload, and we knew
up front we weren’t going to make it in time.
Those unmet expectations of a smooth morning and being in Illinois on
time led to some frustration.
The journey to Illinois itself went very
smooth, and with only a few pit stops we made fairly good time. We couldn’t have asked for better weather,
sunny and warm. As we pulled onto the
street where our little red cabin is located, we were greeted with a lovely
sight - cars lined the street on both sides, people standing around eating
lunch and waiting for us. The first
trailer was already unloaded, and Brad let someone back the other one in the
drive. We were welcomed warmly. A delicious, hot spaghetti dinner with fruit
and salad greeted us. While we ate, they
unloaded the trailer. Helping hands soon
had the beds put together, kitchen items unpacked, kitchen table assembled and
the washer and dryer well on their way to being operational. It is so true many hands make light work. It was very overwhelming to see the smiling
faces and hear the kind words. New
neighbors introduced themselves, and a few of the ladies had even drawn me a
map of the houses on both sides of the street complete with names of their
family members and phone numbers in case we had questions or needed
anything. It was such a wonderful way to
start life together as a family in Illinois!
So many good things were going on outside, but
internally I was struggling with some unmet expectations. You see, once we walked in the house it was
clear that the house had not been cleaned up as we had anticipated. I was extremely frustrated and
disappointed. When we walked through it
a few weeks earlier, we had asked for it to be cleaned before we arrived. I had fully expected it to be done. Those unmet expectations really knocked the
wind out of me that day. The house was
filthy. It smelled. One of the previous owners must have been a
smoker, and so the air had that aroma even with the windows open. There was a dead cricket in the sink and
grime built up on the stove, counters, sink, and cabinets in the kitchen. The ceiling fan and light fixtures had dirt
hanging from them. There was dirt
everywhere, and the bathroom had not been touched. There were light bulbs burnt out throughout
the house, and the smoke detectors did not have batteries. In my mind the house was not prepared for us. It was completely unacceptable.
Brad’s
parents had tried to help get things set right before the moving crew arrived
but there just wasn’t enough time. The
furnace guy had come to check the furnace for us, and then people from RCC
began to arrive to help unload and get us settled. The only thing I could do was remember we
were “camping” in our little red cabin.
I had a choice. Choice A was to
focus on the unmet expectations. Choice
B was to get busy and start cleaning up our camp site. Resolutely I chose B, because to focus on the
filth and dirt might have meant I missed out on something even better that God
had in store for me.
So
when our new friends left, we got busy. Brad
replaced light bulbs and smoke detectors and that brightened things up a
bit. We discovered a mixture of ammonia
+ white vinegar + baking soda will do wonders on removing smoke odors from
walls. The floors were scrubbed with a Murphy’s
Oil mixture and soon those were much improved as well. The living area floor was peppered with staples
from where it had been carpeted at one time.
Here and there some were sticking straight up – ouch! In the scrubbing process those sticking up were
removed. Now feet, big and little, are
safe! The bathroom and kitchen both
cleaned up well with disinfectants and elbow grease. I will also note that I am so very, very
grateful for the person who invented Fabreze!
Finally,
after a few days, our little cabin was tidy.
The cabin transformed from this dirty, stinky, unacceptable place into a
cozy place for us to reconnect as a family.
It has been such a blessing. We
are so very grateful for how God has used this place to fulfill a need for our
family! Had my focus stayed on the filth
and dirt and unmet expectations, then I would be missing out right now on
something better. I am reminded once
again that God uses the unexpected to do some pretty amazing things!
I
find it no coincidence that the next Sunday in worship the sermon touched upon
unmet expectations! God is always
working and moving in our lives, using the everyday things to bring His truths
to light! Brad taught from Luke 2, a
traditional Christmas text, however, he began to lay out some of the historical
background about the text. Surprisingly,
instead of jumping right in to the baby in the manger, he began to paint a
picture of the current political and cultural conditions that surrounded the
birth of Christ. He brought to our
attention God’s hand working and moving even when the world couldn’t see or
hear Him. He also challenged us to see beyond the noise, busyness, and hustle
and bustle of Christmas today. He
challenged us to really notice Christ and what God did for us so many years
ago. We were reminded that the King of
Kings was born in a filthy, dirty, smelly, damp, noisy, and unkingly place
instead of the neat, tidy pictures we have in our minds or under our trees in
the pretty nativity scenes.
Mary
had no sterile room, no pain medications, no comfy bed, and no monitors. She had no nurse call button, fluffy pillow,
or warm blankets from the warmer. There
was no fully staffed medical team complete with NICU in case there were
complications. The manger was most
likely carved from stone and was a cold, dirty, germ filled feeding trough with
bits of animal feed still in it. Was
there even any clean hay in the barn?
Jesus didn’t have a nice warm sleeper complete with cute little hat or
sleep sack to be clothed in or a portable crib stocked with diapers, wipes, A
and D ointment, pacifiers, or extra blankets and onesies; he had strips of
cloth. The stable that night was not
prepared for the birth of our Lord and Savior, the King of kings. It was entirely unacceptable. Yet that is where God chose to have His Son
born. It is in that dirty, damp place
that the prophesies were fulfilled and God’s plan prevailed.
On
that night so long ago, while so many were gathered in one place for the
census, the Savior was born. Because
they were expecting an earthly king to arrive and establish a new kingdom to
free them from the Roman Empire, the people missed out on the Messiah’s
arrival! What Messiah would be born in a
dirty stable? His birth almost entirely
went unnoticed. Throughout Jesus’s
entire lifetime people misunderstood who He was and what He was about. I’m so grateful that those expectations were
unmet because they led to something better than we could have ever imagined, a
Savior! God used the unexpected to do
something amazing! Jesus came to earth
as a baby to save us and establish an eternal, everlasting kingdom that will
never wear out or be overthrown.
As
we head into this Christmas, stop and reflect on the baby born in the stable. Don’t let your busy schedules and unmet
expectations of who He is cause you to miss the bigger picture. Take some time to reflect and notice our King
and Savior lying in a dirty, smelly place so that one day He would be able to
cleanse our dirty, smelly, lives of sin. Notice who God chose to use to fulfill his
plan – a young girl, a carpenter, an inn keeper, shepherds….ordinary people
like you and me and ordinary things like a census. Scripture not only records his first coming,
but promises He will be returning. We
have a job to do! We need to spread the
word concerning Him just like the shepherds did. Rejoice in the gift God has given you, rest
in the love He has lavished on you, and share this free gift with others!
Merry
Christmas!
