Have you ever been confounded by how something turned out? Confounded? What does that mean? To be perplexed by situations or people that do not meet your expectations.

That hardly sounds like a gift.

As Christians, we can assume life should be a walk in the park, and if something goes badly, then God must be mad.

Not true, my friend.

Rule # 1: God doesn’t think or act as we do.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways…For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Is 55:8-9

Rule # 2: We are God’s children, and as a perfect Father, He offers many opportunities and trials to purify and refine us, so we grow in holiness.
             In this, you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire…

1Pet 6-7

Think about it, as we draw closer to Christmas, pay attention to the Infant Narratives—the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke. Notice that right after the Blessed Virgin Mary gave her fiat to the Angel Gabriel, life got challenging and unpredictable.

But wait, Mary was sinless, and Joseph was “a righteous man…” (Mt 1:19); they were practically perfect humans.  They cooperated with God, so why the adversity?

Reread the rules.

Consider this possibility: Joseph and Mary serve as living witnesses of faithfulness to God in all circumstances.

There is infinite value in the witness of the saints. They show us that God can use our worst predicaments and harshest experiences to gain incredible benefits in this life and the one to come.

Confounding, right!

Let’s go deeper with Joseph and Mary.

Joseph is betrothed to a virgin who becomes pregnant by God. He requires heavenly persuasion to marry her and obediently does so. No time to settle into married life when they are required to travel to Joe’s ancestral home in Bethlehem, about ninety miles away.

Their mode of transportation was not a comfortable flight, but walking or riding a donkey. We complain about coach seats, but can you imagine riding a donkey for a week—while nine months pregnant—only to arrive with no rooms to rent?

A cave with animals looks agreeable after the long trip, and nowhere else to stay. Jesus was born and lay in a manger for a bed. It’s cold and dark, and there’s no local Starbucks to grab some hot cocoa to celebrate the birth. Uninvited guests pop by to see the new king, bringing their bleating sheep. Followed by strange royalty, bearing unusual gifts.

Within a short period of time, Joseph is again visited in a dream by Gabriel, who sends them immediately packing for Egypt in the middle of the night; little Jesus is in danger of being murdered.

Imagine the blackness of the night, the piercing cold, and few provisions. They can’t pop into REI and get extra bedding, run through McDesert’s to grab a happy pouch or stop by Sprout’s for baked Challah.

I’ve been to the Sahara desert at night; it’s an ever-changing landscape, black and cold with all the crawly things that emerge. Joseph and Mary had to navigate the Sinai Desert as they journeyed toward Egypt.

And this was only the first few months of their life together.

Why would God allow this to happen to Mary and Joseph, who were faithful? It can seem unfair and frankly cruel.

A couple of thousand years later, we can look back in time and say, WOW, thank you for showing us what courage looks like in the face of life’s extreme challenges.

Thank you for your unhesitating obedience and trust in God’s plan, which brought forth our Savior in what appears to be the most unlikely of scenarios.

It’s confounding, really!

Everything God does and allows has purpose. Joseph’s obedience was tested regarding Mary, his wife. The Bethlehem trip brought the future Bread of Life into the City of Bread. Where He slept, and animals fed—was a foretaste of the day we too would partake of Him in the Eucharist. The miserable trip to Egypt protected Christ’s life, and God called His Son out of Egypt as He once called His ancestors and us, from the slavery of sin.

Joseph and Mary exemplified what it means to trust and surrender completely to God, even when it appears senseless from our perspective.

And that is the key: perspective.  God sees everything at once, all time and history. We see a pixel of a moment. God has a perspective worthy of entrusting everything. It might look wonky, unnecessary and scary from our angle; however, because His perspective is perfect and the only one that matters, our job as His children is to let go and let God lead us.

If everything had been perfect for Joseph and Mary, we wouldn’t have discovered the more profound hidden meaning. A king who had everything. No stress, unpredictable challenges or hardships. Chariots, servants and caravans with everything the family could ever need or want.  A palace, attendants and nothing we could relate to at all.

It simply would be a fairy tale.

God allows what he allows for a reason. I am stronger for all I’ve suffered, and I have grown tremendously in trusting God.

In those times when it feels like everything is falling apart, look to Jesus, Mother Mary and St. Joseph. Give everything to God. Take the next right step and know that God will never abandon you. He may stretch us further than we ever imagined possible, but in doing so, we are learning a little something about Him and ourselves.

And the confounding thing is, it’s an amazing, unexpected gift.

I’m published! Do you want to learn more about the Blessed Virgin Mary? Why not pick up the book here! This collection of over 30 titles of Our Lady and how she worked in the lives of its authors. I wrote the chapter on Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Every order in December will also receive a 5X7 copy of the original work by artist Thomas Hanchett, of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Thank YOU!