enjoyable: we get to see Christmas lights night after night and listen

to music that fills us with wonder. But other parts are not so great.

We feel the pressure to shop for the perfect gifts, while our schedules

seem to overload more than ever. For many, we’re trying to figure out

how to manage all of our social and family desires and obligations

around Christmas. Waiting isn’t always fun. And that’s true far beyond

Christmas. Today we’re going to look at a moment in this story when we

can see how real the story of Mary and Joseph is in the waiting. And

we’ll see what the Christmas story tells us about waiting as the

children of God. There’s a lot more hope in waiting than we usually

experience so let’s see what the Lord has to show us!