And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 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 lodging available for them. ~ Luke 2:6, 7 (NLT)
Yes, Chrissy Wolgemuth, our daughter-in-law, is ready to have her first child. A daughter. Our first grandchild.
Last week, while Mary and I were in Orlando for Thanksgiving, we saw that everything was ready. The nursery is prepped. The closet is full. The cradle and crib are poised. The time has come.
I was taken aback by the statement that people make when they are announcing a pregnancy. “We’re expecting!”
Yes, how perfect. Yes, Chrissy and Andrew are expecting. They’re expecting a baby to be born, and when she’s born, everything will change, forever. Schedules, agendas, resources, attention and so much more will be transformed when parents meet daughter.
Yes, in Bethlehem, everything changed. A teenaged Jewish girl gave birth to a baby boy and for Mary and Joseph, life would never be the same. The compounding of joy, sorrow, hope and fear blended together in the fabric of Christ’s life. But Jesus, the Christ, not only changed life for his parents, He profoundly changed life for all of us, and yes, forever.
Mankind was expecting. A savior. A new kind of king. A light in the darkness. Water for a dry land. Jesus, the escort of hope into a desperate world.
No wonder we call this time of year Advent. Hope and expectation collide with despair, and the impact reverberates throughout history with transformational significance. Human existence will never be the same.
In a few days, a baby will be born. She will change our lives forever. And her first beautiful act will be to remind us of Bethlehem.
We’re expecting.
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