Faith like Mary and Joseph

I love advent season. When I think of the word advent, I always think of the same thing. The advent wreaths I would make in Sunday School out of styrofoam plates, a little greenery and birthday cake candles. I have fond memories of carting that treasure home and performing a little advent service with my parents every Sunday in December. I may be older, but the magic and awe of advent is still just as powerful.

This season, our church is exploring the roles of key people in the Christmas story. Last week was Mary, this week was Joseph. I think we hear this story over and over again and forget to stop and think about how truly remarkable it is that the story ever happened in the first place. The most amazing thing - and what unites these two key characters - is their faith.

An angel shows up to this girl who's probably between the ages of 12 and 15 (just think of any 13-year-old girl you know and ask yourself if she would have reacted the same way) and tells her, hey, so you're a virgin but you're going to magically get pregnant and give birth to the Savior of the World. If that's not pressure, I don't know what is. Not to mention that she's engaged to what seems like a really nice guy. Don't you know she's wondering how in the heck he's going to react to this news?? And thinking that if he gets really mad and tells everyone that's she's pregnant, but not with his baby, that her fate is to be stoned to death? So all of this has to be going through her mind, but she basically says to the angel, "let it happen as you have said." Seriously??? I would have told that angel he was out of his mind.

And then you have sweet Joseph, whose role, I think, is often underappreciated. He finds out that Mary is pregnant and makes the decision to quietly "divorce" her, since being engaged is basically like being married. He doesn't want to embarrass her and certainly doesn't want her to be stoned to death. Even though he was probably feeling very betrayed and embarrassed himself, he didn't want Mary to suffer. But an angel comes to him to explain the situation and asks him to raise this child, this Savior of the World, as his own. And he does.

I question God a lot. I like to ask if He's really sure He knows what He's doing. If He really needs me to do whatever it is He's asking. If He wouldn't prefer if I took over in the decision-making in my life. How, then, these two people made the choice to ignore what their heads were likely saying and be led by their hearts, by a God they trusted more than anything in the world, is truly amazing to me. It reminds me that He does know best. That He has my best interest at heart, always. That my faith in Him should be unconditional, unwavering. So this advent season, and beyond, when I find myself questioning God and unsure of the way, I'm going to think of Mary and Joseph. I'll gain inspiration from these two characters whose choice to follow God changed my life forever.