Sometimes you feel like you’re on top of God’s plan for your life. YOU GOT THIS! Other times, you feel like things are falling apart. Mind you these “sometimes” and “other times” could be the same day. So what then? Are you on top of God’s plan for your life or are you not? Well, the answer does not lie in the feelings, but in the journey itself. The three Wise Men were certain that they were following the start that would lead to the new born king. They asked around, and evidently people pointed them to Herod the king, but he was not the one they were looking for.


I have a feeling that throughout their road trip, their emotions were all over the place. At first they were probably indecisive, “should we embark on this journey? What if we are wrong? Should we trust all the information that we have?” My speculations is that as they got closer to the star their confidence grew.  They were probably pretty sure that they were doing the will of God. Then they got to the city. They asked around, and behold they found the king! But unfortunately it was the wrong king.I am sure they walked away confused, bewildered, and probably thinking: “Okay, so we followed the star, it/ people lead us here, but He was not here.” I don’t know about the Wise Men, but if that were to happen to me, I would be pretty disappointed, confused, and let face, I’d probably be pretty upset at God.


From that perspective I dare to say that they were not amused with the results!


But really, let’s think about it, what happened with these Wise Men? They followed the star; they reached a king that gave them some information, and set them back out on the road once more. Finally, they found this said new-born King.


So what does that all mean?


Sometimes we follow what we think God’s plan is, and it leads us to a place we did not hope or expect to reach. That place will provide us with the needed information to reach the place in which God is truly point us towards. We may try to go back to the place where we received that information, but God then interrupts us leading us elsewhere.


So, were the Wisemen on top of God’s plan for their lives when they followed the star? Yes! Was it difficult for them to leave their homes and embark on the journey where they had to followed a star? Undoubtedly! Were they disappointed when they reached Herod, and it was not the king they sought? Most likely! Were they still following God’s plan even though they felt disappointed at the primary result? Absolutely! Did they reach their destination? Yes, they did! How? Through God’s divine providence and their dependence on the world that He gave them.


At times you are certain that this is God’s plan, other times you are not. Take that information you have and continue! God will not leave you!  Continue praying, continue hoping, and continue with God. He will lead you to your destinations even if He has you stop and take some unexpected detours just like He did with the Wisemen! Disappointed? I know, so were they? But they continued, and so should you!


As always continue loving God for better for worst, in sickness and health, because He loves you and He is with you!

Roller coaster, life with God is a roller coaster. It’s not as easy as the movies make it out to be. Consider this, whenever we think of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we imagine a pregnant girl, a donkey, and a man walking besides them. It’s a beautiful image, and at some points during the journey it depicted the reality of the situation, but that was not always the case. It wasn’t always this blissful. What we fail to realize is that there was a huge struggle. Let’s recount the events:

1. Mary says yes to God’s plan (She is miraculously  pregnant with Jesus)
2. Mary has to tell Joseph (wasn’t easy)
3. Joseph wants to leave Mary (God intervenes)
4. Joseph takes pregnant Mary to Bethlehem (No place to stay AKA homeless)
5. Mary gives birth in basically a shed ( Not comfortable)
6. Mary, Jesus, and Joseph escape to Egypt (Long exhausting journey with a new born)
7. They don’t know anyone there (Homeless again: no food, no drink, no shelter)

You get the point… It was not easy. It wasn’t picture perfect like the movies, why? Because life is a struggle, but Emmanuel, God is with us! That is where our hope comes from. Yes, our lives are filled with struggles, but we are not hopeless, nor are we alone! God is with us as He was with Mary and Joseph. At times He sent His angels to guide the way, but at other times He was there silently sleeping.


Struggling is a part of life, but when we live that life with God it becomes peaceful, joyful, and not to sound like a cliche, but also triumphant. Life takes effort; it takes facing hardship; however, we are sustained by His love and His presence in our lives.


Keep going! God is with you! Yes, your life may be a roller coaster, but do not be afraid! He is with you! It wasn’t easy for Mary and Joseph either, but look at where they are now! Look at where we are now because of their struggles! This does not mean you should go seek out struggles, but should something arise, you can do it, just like Mary and Joseph did and it will sanctify you too. Jesus is with you as He was with them.

I wanted to write a hopeless message about reality as it slaps us in the face, a reality that we have to deal with,  but I committed this year to writing daily during this advent seasons. Yet, my advent reflection did not match my words, so I stopped. I had written about the irrelevant maybe that causes us to overthink without a clear reality check. What I had written was stylistically great, but it was not reality as I see through the lens of faith.  Here is the reality check I think we need this season. The Jews waited more than 400 years for the prophecy of the savior to be fulfilled. They knew when he would be born. They waited, they waited, and they waited some more! For many of those years, God seemed absent. As if He was not doing a single thing, but lo and behold! He was, he prepared and Ann and Joachim to have Mary. He prepared Mary at the temple. He prepared Joesph. He prepared Elizabeth and Zachariah to have John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus. Now here is the thing, to Elizabeth and Zachariah things seemed impossible! They were shamed by the fact that they did not have a child. God knew that. He made them wait!


They continued praying. They continued loving God, and they continued telling him about how they felt and the reality in which they were facing. Meanwhile, to many God seemed as though He was not answering them, but He was. Things needed to be in order. Mary was 14 when she had Jesus. Had Elizabeth been pregnant with John before, she wouldn’t have felt the greeting of the Mother of God moving the child within her. Why because maybe Mary herself would not have been born.


Hopeless they seemed, but they continued praying. Hopeless all of Israel seemed, but they continued praying, and God continued working behind the scenes until it was time for them to see the glory of God as Simeon proclaimed it.


So now you maybe facing a certain situation, one where you feel completely hopeless. You may even thing that God is not answering you at all, but be certain that He is doing something. Complain to Him, tell Him your problems, and give thanks to Him. He will deliver you! Now note that He may deliver you in ways that you did not expect. Consider Elizabeth, wouldn’t it have been nice if she had become pregnant at a younger age and avoided all the shame that that society had for barren women? Absolutely, but that would not have led to glorifying  God as did the birth of John the Baptist!

No one thought it was possible, but it happened. Same thing with Sarah and Abraham! Same goes for a Virgin with Child! Keep praying! Keep loving God! Keep on asking! Have faith! Have hope! Have fun with God! He is great. He will deliver you. He will change you and the situation you are in! For better and for worse, for sickness and in health, love God and praise Him!


God is good! All the time!
All the time! God is good!