Advent Devotional, 2nd Day of Advent

Jesus surprised people by coming when he did. As with every other natural birth, there was nothing Mary could do to determine the day and time of Jesus’ arrival. So she had to content herself with doing everything she could to be ready whenever that day came. 
It’s easy to forgive a baby for operating on its own schedule. It’s much harder to forgive the service technician for doing so. We imagine we’d be happier if we could control the timing of everything in our lives. And our lives would certainly be easier if we could. 
But Jesus has never been impressed with our calendars (or our need for control) and he is wise and good. So, like Mary, we should be confident that he is coming and content ourselves with doing our best to be ready when he does.
Matthew 24:44
Prayer - “Lord forgive me for wanting to control the timing of everything. I believe that you love me and that I can trust you to order things for the best. So help me to use my time to prepare so that whenever you do show up I can greet your arrival without panic, without anything but pleasure.”