Not what you expected

Many people don't know this, but I worked in media (TV, radio and print) before I started teaching.  Have you ever been listening to the radio and you hear a radio personality on the air and in your mind, you begin to form an image of what you think that they should look like?  I am guilty of this.  I have actually had the opportunity to meet radio personalities in person.  At times, upon meeting them, I would think that they were not what I had imagined what would have been on the other side of the microphone.  Maybe you have conversed with someone over the phone before you met them, for example setting up a job interview.  Then you get to the interview or meeting and think to yourself, I imagined them being this way, or such and such way.

The same thing happened with the birth of our Savior.  The prophet Isaiah said that he would be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace and Immanuel.  Other names attributed to Jesus are King of Kings, Lord of lords, Bright and Morning Star, Rose of Sharon and the Alpha and the Omega.  With a litany of such powerful names, who would imagine that our Holy King, the son of Mary would make his entrance from the heavenly glories in a little sleepy town called Bethlehem, only to be born in a stable with stinky animals and laid in a feeding trough as his crib within hours of his birth.  He would have an array of visitors from Shepherds, the Magi from the far east, and yes, some even believe the little drummer boy (LOL).  Our savior's birth was heralded and announced by the angels and hosts of heaven.  This is not what I would have expected to be the primary living conditions for the King of Kings and Lord of all Creation.  But this is the way that God saw fit to bring salvation into the world.

I encourage you to step out on faith and to embrace the unexpected.  Sometimes we block ourselves from so many blessings in our lives, because the external packaging is not what we would expect it to be.  Be open to the unexpected.  The old folk used to say that the Lord works in mysterious ways.  So during this season, tap into the mystery of the unexpected.

Peace,
Karsten