I guess you can say I like to be present in all that I do. I enjoy surprises and the unknown. Yet, I also look forward to making many attempts as to what might happen.

But as you know, the best is left to how it all unfolds.

Somewhat like the time you met your spouse—the time when you couldn’t stop thinking about them. And the more time spent together, the more plans were made.

I’m sure Joseph and Mary did the same thing. They probably didn’t go to the movie or text each other long conversations. It would have been a little more intimate and simple in nature.

All the more reason why Christmas is such a special season.

Two people who loved each other and wanted to spend their lives together. It couldn’t be more perfect.

Until God had a divine plan.

The K.I.S.S. ~ The night that changed the world!

Luke 1:26-38

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

But Joseph, too, was visited.

Matthew 1:18-24

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The night that changed the world.

I find it interesting when marriage gets tough, most pack up and run. Mary and Joseph faced struggles beyond anything we could imagine.

However, with the visits from the angels, it became the night that changed the world.

Joseph and Mary had to put away what they thought marriage was. They needed to see marriage through the eyes of God; the richness and fullness of God’s love.

What if you slowed down enough to seek and listen for what God desires in your marriage?

• Would you look at your struggles differently?
• Would your disagreements and arguments be more productive with fewer personal attacks?
• Would your finances be streamlined to the point of reaching a compromise in living your dreams together?

The hustle and bustle does not have to wear down your marriage. It can be the night that changed the world.

PRAYER: May your heart be filled with all the splendor God has in store for you and your spouse. Let the light in your heart illuminate the hope in your marriage. God delights in your smile and extends His love that is worthwhile; all-encompassing, all-forgiving, and all-accepting.

“Be present. Be incredible. Be YOU!!!”