Life’s uncertainty

Gospel: Mt 1:18-25

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121823.cfm

Most of us develop hypothetical strategic plans for what might happen to us. We play through ‘what if’ situations in our minds and think through what we’d do with different scenarios. We even assess the decisions of others to a rubric we’ve created by playing through these possibilities, when there is no way for us to know for certain what they are actually experiencing. Different personalities deal with this differently. Some of us are more prone to worry and need to work through every possibility before we act, others make decisions more rashly.

In today’s gospel, we see that Joseph has already worked through a game plan for what he has perceived to be Mary’s infidelity. It took an angel visiting him to shift his outlook on the situation.

Life gives us a multitude of unexpected situations. We think that we can anticipate how a particular situation will be, but when we face it, the experience is entirely different than what we expected. Some of us will stick to our playbook and others will take the experience as a way to grow beyond our preconceived notions.

I believe life experience and God are both pushing us to transform. All of us have the propensity to be transformed for the better, but we have to be open to it. I don’t think there was any way that Joseph could have predicted how his life was going to change through his relationship with Mary. I’m sure he had his own script of how it would be for a carpenter from Nazareth. Boy, was he wrong! Boy, are we wrong! That said, we only know what we know with the limited information we have; so give yourself grace. But know, that there is always more that you don’t know and be ready for that uncertainty to challenge you to greatness. Let your tomorrows transcend where you are today.