The Unsung Hero of Christmas

    This year, my friends and I decided to do a Bible study together on Jesus to focus our hearts for Christmas. There were the usual devotionals about Jesus, the shepherds, the angels and of course, Mary. She is, and always will be, a fascinating and treasured part of the Christmas story. The Catholics deify her and the Christians don't give her enough credit (in my opinion). 

    I was heavily pregnant over Christmas with my last baby and I felt such a kinship with Mary. I imagined myself getting anywhere near a donkey or making a journey on foot across many miles. Um... the answer is no way. Can we just call and tell you how many are in our family instead of having to show up?!? Of course, it was my fourth pregnancy and I was way older than her, but even as a first time, teenage mother, that does not sound like fun. 

    But the one devotional that really stuck out to me this time was about Joseph. We don't know a lot about Joseph's life in the scriptures, but what we do know gives us a good idea about who he was. I think he is the unsung hero in the Christmas story. Maybe he was a quiet man and didn't demand attention. But he definitely was a good and kind man. 

    When Mary showed up pregnant, in that day, he had the right to be very cruel to her. But he wanted to divorce her quietly, so there wouldn't be big drama for her. The fact that he cared enough about her to consider her feelings, even though it looked like she had betrayed him, is a giant act of kindness. He didn't mock or shame her. He protected her.

    If an angel showed up in a dream to me and told me what I thought was clearly human error on my partners side, was not what it seemed, I wonder how quickly I would agree with that notion. But Joseph was willing to be obedient to God, even when he knew people would judge his character and probably talk behind his back about him and his wife. It didn't matter to him what people thought. He was determined to obey God above all else.

    I can't imagine what both Mary and Joseph experienced when Jesus was born. I know for each of my children's births, it was an incredible experience. We even had one emergency C-section and it was still marvelous. Imagine knowing you just gave birth to God in human form.The emotion from the travel, finding shelter and giving birth probably had them overwhelmed. Then a bunch of smelly shepherds show up on your doorstep. How awesome is it that they had the presence of mind to allow other people to come in and worship Jesus? Greg and I were both so protective over our newborns, but Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not theirs alone. He was meant to be shared with the world.

    Joseph had to have a close enough relationship with God to trust Him when He told Joseph to flee to Egypt and leave his home country. Moving is stressful and I'm sure there was thought about how he was going to provide for his family, but he obeyed God and trusted that He would take care of them. 

    We know that Joseph taught Jesus his trade. I cracked up when I watched the movie, Meet the Parents and Owen Wilson was talking about getting into carpentry because of Jesus and then they told him that Ben Stiller was Jewish and he says, "So was JC. You're in good company."😂Think of all the hours Joseph probably spent with Jesus, teaching him his skill. I know when I do things with my kids like hiking or baking, that's when some interesting topics of conversation come up. It then allows me to pour into them values and teach them about having strong character. 

    We know that Joseph taught his family the importance of putting God first and going to church. Remember when they lost Jesus, who was only 12 years of age, at the temple? I have lost my children (one child in particular) over and over again. Not for a long period of time, but long enough to make me start to sweat. I can't imagine days! I did often lose my child at church, though. Not because he was getting instruction from the pastors, but often up to something dangerous or disastrous. (You know who you are and I love you for your mischievous ways ❤️).

    We don't know when Joseph died. But it was sometime after Jesus was 12 and before He started His ministry. This means so much to me too. As a mother to children who lost their dad at an early age, I see the impact Joseph had on his Son and that brings me such comfort. Even though my younger two children don't remember Greg in the way the older two do, they still know who he was. Through stories and videos and small recollections, they have a good idea of the character their father had and his influence in their lives will always be them.

     So, we know that Joseph was kind, caring, protective, obedient to God, skillful, dedicated and righteous. That's a pretty amazing list of quality characteristics, and yet, he was not the main focus of the Christmas story. My devotional says, "[Joseph] was the hidden and silent partner in the unfolding story of God's life on earth." I love that! He was just a supporting character, and yet his influence was great in Jesus. I see all those characteristic in Him. 

    What is our role in the Christmas story this year? I often find myself feeling like an insignificant part of the story, but man, maybe I'm looking at this all wrong. What if my part was Joseph's part? Even though I can feel like an afterthought, the fact that I got to spend quality time with God is amazing. Even if I only get to speak of God's goodness and His miraculous story at Christmas time to a tiny podcast audience and my own four kids, that's incredible! Friend, if Jesus can take a small supporting role and use it to make the biggest impact the world has ever known, think about what He can do with your beautifully broken lives!