Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
– Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
Growing up in Michigan, we had white Christmases almost every year. On Christmas morning, the fireplace was lit, the smell of cinnamon rolls filled the air, and a blanket of snow covered the ground outside. When I moved to Charleston, I learned this was not how everyone spent Christmas!
We all have expectations of what the Christmas season will be like. In the movie, White Christmas, two former Army GIs, Bob and Phil, become a successful entertainer duo after the end of WWII. Booked for a show at Christmastime, they find themselves headed to Vermont with two sisters, who are also performers. On the train to the Columbia Inn, they all sing and talk of the snow and the numerous travelers they expect will greet them in Vermont. Yet, when they arrive, there is no snow, and so few people are at the inn that their show is about to get canceled. Reality falls incredibly short of their expectations.
DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS
When God’s people imagined the arrival of the Messiah, many had specific expectations. Some pictured a powerful military leader. Some a prophet like Moses. Others believed he would be a human but with superhuman abilities. No one expected the Savior of the world to come as a baby wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger. Jesus’s birth was humble and didn’t live up to people’s expectations—and yet, he was and is the greatest gift the Lord could give humanity.
Living in Charleston, I’ve had to alter some of my expectations for what Christmas will look and feel like. Some December days are warm enough to spend at the beach! You will still find me decorating for Christmas right after Thanksgiving, but I now understand that at its core, Christmas is about the posture of our hearts—a genuine overflow of joy and gratitude for the birth of Jesus. Christmas is a season for remembering God’s greatest gift (Isaiah 9:6). It’s a time when we need to let go of our old expectations and focus on what matters most.
ABOVE AND BEYOND
In White Christmas, Bob and Phil realize the owner of the struggling inn is their highly respected, former Commanding Army General. They make it their mission to put on a show that will draw people to the inn, despite the lack of snow. “We're doin' it for a pal in the Army,” they say repeatedly.
In the final scene, the Columbia Inn is full and the crowd sings “White Christmas” as a thick snowfall finally blankets the inn. As beautiful and welcome as the snow is, it’s not what saves the inn—it’s how the characters have let go of their expectations and gone out of their way for each other, to focus on what matters most.
Reflect: How might you need to alter your expectations this Christmas to focus on what is most important?
