Christmas is about disappointment; or not??
What will disappoint you this Christmas? As I write, snow is falling, creating an inspiring atmosphere for creativity to flow freely. The ground is covered, and it’s coming down quickly. One of my squirrel friends is sitting way out on a tiny limb munching on the fruit of all that labor he’s put in for weeks. I’ll never figure out how they can balance themselves on a thin tree limb and then fly to the next branch like Rocky the Flying Squirrel. For my younger readers, there was once a hilarious cartoon series about Rocky and his goofy-looking moose sidekick, Bullwinkle.
I am enjoying my view with delight now because it will not last. No, typical southcentral Pennsylvania winter weather will arrive this afternoon, and the snow will turn to rain and ruin everything! I’ll take twenty-five degrees and snowing any day over thirty-eight degrees and drizzle. Yuk!
Ultimately, dreary conditions will melt the glistening fluffy blanket and ruin our white Christmas. I would love a white Christmas every year, but so far, those praying against me have won out. What’s up with that, Lord? There is a reason why the song, White Christmas, remains the number one selling single of all time, selling over fifty-million copies worldwide. Doesn’t everyone dream of a white Christmas?
Weather dissatisfaction is part and parcel of my Christmas, but there are far more severe shades of disillusionment surrounding the holiday, aren’t there?
The first year a loved one will not take a seat at the Christmas dinner table or unwrap carefully chosen gifts is beyond simple disappointment. The argument with your spouse on Christmas Eve will dampen the spirit come family gathering day. Relatives that can’t seem to get along will stress the entire family. Some will say, “My place of employment doesn’t shut down, and I drew the short stick. I’ll be working Christmas day.” For others, money is in short supply this year since they laid you off, so gifting will be skimpy at best.
Yes, there are a host of reasons for holiday disillusionment.
Last Sunday, I was moved by a sermon from an inspiring, cross-cultural Dominican pastor and church planter. He aptly presented a Christmas message about disappointment, explaining that the first noel gave more than ample reason for a letdown for the characters involved. He continued to shed light on how they handled their problem. This helpful message is the fertile soil of what you are about to read. If your holiday is disappointing, these truths might help you.
Nearly everything about the advent of Jesus could be viewed as disappointing and likely was for a time. Consider these thoughts.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, an engaged teenage girl is told she will become pregnant out of wedlock. All her dreams of a festive, exciting, dreamy wedding just went out the window. Could she have thought, “Am I crazy?” or, “This sucks!”
In an instant, this humble, righteous young lady has become a social outcast. Friends and relatives will forever shun her. No one’s idea of a good day.
Ah, and there is her betrothed; a good man unexpectedly confronted with choices that never previously entered his mind. They were not easy or fun decisions to make, and no matter what he decided, his next season would be challenging at best.
The required ride to the home of their ancestors where they knew no one while she was nine months pregnant riding a donkey, eight hours a day, four days and ninety miles to end up in a cattle stall. It wears me out thinking about it! Some of you women reading this can feel her pain.
And, indeed, there were the multiple no vacancy signs leaving the weary couple sleeping in the streets, perhaps, were it not for a suite at the Manger Inn. I wonder if Mary thought, “Doesn’t this guy know how to make a reservation?”
There is simply nothing enjoyable about the nativity scene; it stunk – literally stunk.
Shepherds, overwhelmed by a host of otherworldly beings, tell them their four-hundred-year wait for a Messiah will be realized in a sheep pen. “Guys, we must have smoked too much whacky weed. This message makes no sense.”
There’s the villain, Herod, who was about to be deposed by some poor little brat vying for his throne. In his mind, “Not gonna happen!”
Dozens of families will writhe in pain because a ruthless tyrant murdered their babies, and the kid they were looking for was on his way to Egypt.
Later, three wealthy, influential “wise men” traveled four hundred grueling miles on lumpy, cantankerous camels searching for a new monarch only to find him living in an average family’s home. The king of the Jews was located in a tiny non-descript village a few miles outside the holy city where one would have expected the king of the Jews to be born. “Are you kidding me?! We just spent a small fortune and three weeks for this!”
And how about the child himself? “I’ve given up ultimate luxury to become a fragile glob of human flesh, followed by thirty-three less-than-luxurious years on this wretched planet culminating with a horrific ending? This is Your plan, Dad?”
There was also an entire nation disappointed that the person who claimed to be Messiah was not a high-powered warrior who would save them from those disgusting Roman occupiers. “There is no way this is the One. We were expecting a better gift than this!”
And don’t forget the orchestrator of it all: God. “I’m going to give up my son for a bunch of thankless, stupid, stiff-necked nitwits who will treat him like garbage and murder him. What has gotten into me? Is there a shrink specializing in divinity counseling because I might need one?”
Disappointment Disappointment! Disappointment! What is not discouraging about the birth of Jesus? If Christmas dismays you, you’re in good company. I guess a white Christmas is trivial in the grand scheme of things.
Can I share a secret, a mystery, an enigma so baffling that it causes many to throw up their hands and exclaim, “This is nuts! I don’t get it.” If you are in that place sometimes, no worries; it is nuts!
The Almighty’s workings are the most illogical, unpredictable, unimaginable, illusive, and, yes, disappointing conundrums of our existence. At the same time, the Master Artist displays the most unique, astounding, miraculous, spectacular, and majestic unlikely scenes one can behold. The nativity scene reveals a seemingly upside-down Deity recreating a messed-up world according to radically opposite principles to make humanity right-side up again. And it worked! It worked!
Because of this axiom, if you will allow it, disappointment at Christmas, or any other time for that matter, can open the door to vistas and wisdom you’ve never seen or imagined. Like Mary and later her Son, who faced a depressing and perplexing proposition, when you resound their words, the doors of heaven will open before your eyes. The maiden replied to the angel, “May it be to me as You wish,” And in the depths of despair, the son resounded, “Nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done.” This mindset kindles inside you to the most disappointment smashing decisions you can make. This kind of thinking may not remove you from a disappointing place, but it will improve how you look at it because you will acknowledge the bigger picture of your life.
Hiding within that attitude, you will discover a few helpful truths about God and your situation.
A fine young virgin woman was the perfect choice to introduce the Savior to the world. The outlier, Mary, could withstand anything for her divine son.
A humble carpenter was the perfect earthy father for a celestial son who would learn the trade and forever be known as the Carpenter from Nazareth.
The long road to Bethlehem was worth every sore muscle and painful jolt, but this seemingly unimportant destination was the only place on earth worthy of the King of Kings.
“No Vacancy” at the local Hilton meant arriving at the most beautiful suite in human history – a manger in an animal shelter.
King Herod’s consternation and brutal atrocities revealed that no power on earth could thwart the plan of God. Herod is dead; Jesus lives.
The wise men’s wisdom grew three sizes as they gazed upon the humble scene and witnessed timeless truths revealed in the child’s eyes. Real kings are not found in palaces but most often in shacks, and wealth is not a sign of God’s blessing. A lowly scene can be more majestic than a palatial palace. At the end of the,e matter, faithful, obedient, simple people trump conniving power brokers. God reveals His most impressive secrets to the likes of shepherds and such.
God works amidst any and every situation. He shows Himself to kings and paupers, tradespeople and scientists, workers and employers, the defeated and the victor, the poor and the rich, the old as much as the young, and the young as much as the old. God’s most magnificent wonder was not done through Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, Solomon, or any of the great prophets. He saved the world with the cooperation of a simple peasant girl and her humble blue-collar fiancé. What appears to be a tiny, insignificant person, place, or thing can be an unstoppable force when the Master of the Universe gets involved, and He loves to get involved!
Disappointment can open the door to everything beautiful about life and its Creator.
It’s okay to be disappointed, this sensation is part of life on earth, and sometimes our special times and seasons amplify the feeling. But you don’t have to stay in that dark place. Ask your heavenly Father to help you through those difficulties, and then keep your eyes peeled to see Him around the next corner. And remember, you might find Him where you least expected, perhaps in a lonely manger tucked away in your life.
There is one other disappointment buster I want to mention, and it’s essential. The angels proclaimed to the shepherds that they were bringing “good news of great joy.” The birth of Jesus is good news and is meant to be shared. The child in a manger reveals volumes about God and His desire to be part of our lives. If you want to overcome disappointment this season, deliberately share God’s love and watch what happens. Be the bearer of good news in big and small ways. You might find your disenchantment will dissipate like the morning fog when the warm rays of sunlight shine through it. Meanwhile, you will bring someone a little joy and peace along the way. Be the good news.
All that said, I’m still dreaming of a white Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
May God shine through all your disappointments this season.
Live Inspired!
Don Mark
P.S. Thanks to all of you who purchased items from the Live Inspired! store! Your purchases will help support under-resourced female leaders in southern Asia.
