I imagine the chaos before Christ was born—there was a census, Joseph and Mary had to travel to be counted. A heavily pregnant Mary had to walk miles, only to arrive and find no room at the inn.
I imagine Joseph feeling helpless, running around trying to draw anyone’s attention: “Look, my wife will give birth any second—can we find her a room?”
I also wonder—did he question if what the angels said was truly real? If this is the Christ, surely things should go smoothly.
Perhaps Mary too was frightened by the uncertainty of what was to come.
The period leading up to Christ’s birth wasn’t perfect.
It wasn’t announced with calm Christmas carols or streets twinkling with lights.
I imagine it was fraught with chaos, uncertainty, and fear.
And that may be your story today—the fear of what’s coming for you, the waiting taking so long. Will it ever be? How will my story end?
We know Christ brought joy. The story ended in victory.
And as you ponder and wonder, just imagine: He is bringing your story to light, aligning it to His perfect plan.
I love the seasons of the year, but my favourite time of the year is Christmas I love the display of lights on lawns across the streets, i love the music its magic brings Joy and warmth.
I love the various shows, theatre, school plays bringing people together, I love the pop up shops, the Christmas fairs, the smell of roasted chest nuts as, with hot chocolate brewing as people gather for a spot of ice skating.
Christmas is definitely the most beautiful time of the year.
As we prepare to relax and celebrate the Birth of our saviour Jesus I just can’t help but look at my life and how he’s blessed me. I am grateful for this and for the cross, because of the cross and his blood I am here today.
As a waiting woman or couple, you maybe thinking this isn’t for me Christmas brings too much reminders of what you don’t have.
I want to encourage you to find something to do this year that will satisfy you.
Volunteer at a Charity, find a community of like minded people and connect with them.
Find joy and peace in believing that God’s gift in the person of Jesus also comes with all your desire and as you continue to wait in expectation, you will receive.
I love Christmas not just because of all the wonder things above, but because I am reminded of God’s wonderful gift of love, His Son, Jesus.
Jesus was born at Christmas, love brought him to earth, he had all of heaven but chooses to come to die to save man from sin.
As we celebrate wherever you are, do not let it become same old time of the year of having a few days off work, eat and drinking pause and think about Christ wonderful coming and embrace him this Christmas.
There is a saying I like “look forward, because you are headed that way”.
If you are a driver, you know that your main focus should in front ahead of you. .
Yes, we occasionally glance at the rear view mirror before making a turn, but mostly we focus on the road ahead.
Infertility is a constant journey of endless glances backwards.
Recounting that one time you sipped a glass of wine or made a horrible mistake which you are too ashamed to speak of, that old relationship where, perhaps if you had been nicer maybe things would have worked out with another partner.
Endless glances backwards.
we take our eyes off the future, and our hopes and instead regrets sets in, trapping us in guilt and misery of the past.
This is what infertility does, it robs you of enjoying simple everyday stuff, as your whole life is engrossed with endless questions of when will I become a mother? When will it be my turn?
It can be so isolating that it seems no one can comprehend the depts of your pain.
My encouragement for you today is to keep looking forward, look unto Jesus, your maker and creator who made you and knows your inner most desires.
He put those desires there, keep bringing them to him and look up to him. He will respond to your cries for help with Grace and mercy.
He is the author of your story and the finisher of it .
Waiting is part of life, everyone has had to wait or currently waiting or will wait for something significant to come into their lives.
The wait can be about anything, it maybe long or short and often leads to impatience the longer it takes.
Sometimes we wait with friends or a family member comes along to hold our hands or provide that physical, emotional or morals support.
A&E waiting rooms are pictures of pain and misery. People all waiting to be seen for their issues to be addressed.
Who is in the waiting room with you during your waiting period/season?
in His day Jesus was found in unusual places places, he hung out with prostitutes,
with tax collectors, those regarded as extortionist, with women (the woman at the well), and in street coner preaching.
if Jesus was living in our world today he certainly would have been found in fertility waiting rooms.
Jesus is no stranger to hunting people, the centurion whose child was ill, the woman with the issue of blood. He was drawn to the sick and down trodden, the ostracised and outcast.
The waiting room of any infertility clinic is an extremely high anxiety, fear, and pain depository . I used to just scan the faces of those waiting with me. Its amazing the mask we put on.
Our dear Lord and Saviour is a hugger, he would have been in the waiting room with waiting couples, hugging, holding and whispering hope and peace . I imagine he is there right now with you. Lean on him, trust in him and hope in him for your miracle.
He knows what you need and will bring it to pass in His own time.
Have you ever felt you wasted so much time? This could either be time wasted waiting at the Doctors office, time spent in traffic, waiting in line to be served.
Yes, we’ve all done some waiting , some waiting are seen as necessary like waiting for a Dr’s appointment or in line to be served. But others like being stuck in a traffic jam, isn’t anyone’s favourite way of passing the time.
Seasons of waiting can be lonely, especially if you are stuck in traffic all by yourself with no one to talk to.. (i recently spent 2 and a half hour in traffic), it wasn’t pleasant. I watched as drivers switched lanes, cut in front of others dangerously, they did everything to get off the traffic, alas, it wasn’t moving and despite their desperate attempts.
My traffic experience was long and lonely, i made some calls, listened to the news, praise and worship, complained to my husband. We are like time during our seasons of waiting. We try to dodge them, switch lanes, complain, worship and even give up and just wait,
Waiting is sometimes difficult and can either make or break us.
In my post Blessings In Waiting I wrote on how to wait and how waiting can help us to recharge refocus, re evaluate and re connect.
Recharge: here we look at the situation and either decide to use the time spent waiting to recharge, see this waiting as period to slow down and rest, from the daily buzz of life, slow your breathing and just be in the moment. Find a positive and focus on it.
Refocus: yes focus on brings you happiness, inspires hope and strength. It can be a love one, see them with you and the warmth they bring, it could be an enjoyable time you had, let your focus be on that. Refocus on whatever brings you peace in that moment of waiting.
And reconnect with it, feel yourself having a good time, or being at peace, reconnecting brings you to a place where you feel most at easy, go there, it could be your last holiday or faith space or with your favourite people, reconnect with them, if possible call them. You may also want to reconnect with the past and let it go, so many of us carry hurt and pain from the past.
We can prolong the waiting seasons of our lives when we hold on to grievances and pain, reconciliation with the past helps us identify what exactly we are holding on to and make peace with it.
Ask yourself: does this emotion help me grow or slow me down. Let go and forgive yourself and whoever else is in that space:
Then reevaluate your situation, embrace your self and how you feel, do not become diminished by the situation which causes you to wait.
often we feel less because we have to wait, our self worth is questioned, you are not less because you waited for a husband, a child, a job, or a loved one to become saved. Reevaluate how you feel and affirm your strength in God. Your experiences are shaping into becoming the best version of yourself.
See yourself in this light as you wait and your waiting period will become a springboard to joy and freedom.
Is there a reason for this pain, why can’t it just end, why the disappointment, discomfort and the long wait.
These are questions we have all asked ourselves in times of great suffering.
Our pain leaves us with more questions than answers. How do you carry on living in the mist of great pain? Disappointment drains us of strength.
Christ suffered for us so that we can have great strength and hope in our pain.
Christ was born to carry not just our sins but our pain, wounded, bruised and hung on the cross he suffered great pain, Just for us.
He stood in our place, where we would have been condemned, he was condemned.
Where we would have been shamed, He was shamed.
Where fear lingers he brought release, And in this season of Christmas we have peace in our hearts because we know that there will be purpose in our pain.
This knowledge gives us strength as we wait for his perfect plan, we live in hope because hope in him doesn’t bring shame.
So are you tired of waiting, look to the the manger then the cross, then cling to his grace which he gave when he rose again.
I love the story of Hanna in the bible. let the story of Samuel’s birth give you hope. No matter how bad or bleak the situation may seem. Your story will end in victory.
I leave you with the bible passage here of David singing to God after he overcame. This is not Hanna’s song, but it does it for me.
1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent people you save me.
4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies.
5 The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 “In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
God hears, he always does, even when it seems like he isn’t acting.
Now go boldly into the next phase of your life full with praise and thanks to God.
What does peace look like? I asked the kids at Sunday school.
Their answers were surprising and came in quick succession.
One replied: when I don’t have any fears. another, when I am happy, sleeping and playing, holiday brings peace. when I lie down and there is no sound.
But one child replied: When God calms the storm.
That stopped me in my track. This Child remembered the story of Jesus and the storm. When His disciples were worried about drowning and Jesus spoke bringing calm to the waves and seas.
The various replies can be woven into this one statement: When God calms the storm.
Certainly when Jesus said peace be still there was calm, the waves ceased in obedience to Him.
I wonder, what do you need to be cam in your life today? Your heart might be torn from endless wait in various places at various time.
14 day wait or two weeks wait, for the change in the pregnancy test stick. From the results of a recent surgery.
None of these wait brings peace, we are often anxious for what’s to comes or what might not be.
In this season of Advent, ask God to bring His peace into your heart whatever the situation and he will.
He will calm your storms, because that what he does. He bring peace to every situation. All you need to do is ask Him.
My best friends birthday was approaching, It was a significant milestone. I remembered planning ahead trying to figure out what we’re going to do for her.
I contacted her to find out what she had planned, I persisted in asking her until she said “I won’t be having any celebration”.
I sort of expected it because I’ve known for over 20 years and I have never celebrated a birthday with her or celebrated her birthday. I knew her reasons. However, I did not think that such a milestone would go uncelebrated.
She’s single and not currently in a relationship, she’s approaching the age where having children is considered risky, she’s premenopausal. She is in between jobs and between homes.
The last few years have been really difficult for her having lost her dad, which means both parents will not be around when and if she eventually gets married and have children.
Lack of success and achievement in certain areas of our lives, leaves us disappointed and robbed.
You too may be asking yourself as Christmas approaches, what’s there to celebrate?
Our lives are measured by our achievements, the absence of which deemed us failures.
There is a perceived natural progression of ones life, grow up, go to school, meet your partner, graduate, get married, have children and live happily ever after.
As I’ve come to know, life isn’t always a straight line from A to Z. Life will take you from N to B and, from S to W and back again from V to K.
Live doesn’t give you what you order, God does. Life doesn’t give you what you expect, faith in God does. Life doesn’t give you what you think you should have, trust and hope in God does.
And as a result of not getting to those milestones we decide what, when to celebrate and how to celebrate.
Celebration is not about things. We celebrate because we look inside ourselves and we know that regardless of where we are and how far we still have to go, we have a reason to be thankful because a lot of people did not get as far as we have come.
We are thankful because against all odds, are still standing. we reflect on the good we have in our lives.
I want to encourage you today, If you find yourself void of joy, void of any enthusiasm to celebrate let the births of Christ inspire you.
What is there to celebrate?
For starters, your health, Your amazing support group, The families in your life. For the strength to keep going, your nieces and nephews, for your job.
Count your blessings, and let your focus well on God’s goodness, not on the absence of should have been.
Our cup is not half empty but half full.
This Christmas rejoice in the fullness of joy that Christ brought when he came into our world. This is why we celebrate.
