When I taught religious education, we would talk about how Mary was only about 14 when she gave birth to Jesus. If you ever want to see kids get wide-eye, spring that little tidbit on them. A number of them had sisters around that age, who according to their reactions, shouldn’t be left to care for a pet rock, much let the Son of God.

During his homily last Sunday, our deacon shared a recent SNL skit about the nativity. Since I go to bed too early, I didn’t see it when it was on but watched it when I got home. It’s pretty funny and worth a watch. The kids had expectations that Mary would be like their moms – someone who might have some experience taking care of babies. In the skit, Mary had expectations too – she thought that as the carrier of the Savior, there might be better amenities when giving birth – a bed, a doctor, a place without sheep poop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRO5TXp5hSs

The holidays are full of expectations. Not just Christmas but the New Year as well. Today, on Christmas Eve, the day is filled with last minute errands and worries. Some of us thrive on the expectations and others are crippled by them. Some are forced upon us while others we force on ourselves. Let’s all take a deep breath and just enjoy. It’s all good enough. The food, the gifts and especially us.  God trusted a young teenager with his only son, let’s have that same trust in ourselves.