Advent: Divine Interruption

The best laid plans of Mice and Men oft go awry,
And leave us with nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
- Robert Burns

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

Joseph thought that his future was set. He had a decent little carpentry business, and was engaged to a sweet young woman.  A little house, a few sons to take over  the business, maybe a few daughters...predictable and certain, his life laid before him.

But that life wasn't to be.

Mary came to him, pregnant, with an unbelievable story.  She hadn't been unfaithful to him, but an angel had visited her and told her she would miraculously conceive a child who would be the much anticipated answer to an old prophecy.  Right.  She knew that she could be charged with adultery, and that the penalty was death by stoning.  How could she put them in this position?

But Joseph reveals himself to be a man of compassion and character.  I love what is said of him in Matthew:
"And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things..."  (Matthew 1:19 - 20a)  He didn't fly off the handle and denounce her to the world, but put aside his own feelings to think things through.

Joseph also had a visit from an angel, who confirmed all Mary had said (Matthew 1:18 - 25).  He had thought he had only two choices, to divorce Mary quietly, or to publicly disgrace her, leading to her death.  But here was a third option, to stay with her, to be the earthly father to the extraordinary child she was carrying.

We like to make plans, to map out our futures, whether for the next ten years or the next ten minutes.  But like Joseph, our plans can be disrupted by all manner of unexpected news, missed opportunities and unfortunate events.

Sometimes, those interruptions save us from what may have been a disastrous course of action.  Other times, they are obstacles that we must overcome.  In either case, though, how we handle the derailment says a great deal about the types of people we are.

How do you handle unforeseen interruptions in your plans?