I was just a young girl when my life was laid out for me.  A husband had been chosen.  We would soon be married and I could plan on having a family some day.  We would work hard for what we wanted, but everyone did in my home town.  Wealth was for the rich.  We were just thankful to have our daily bread. Then my world turned upside down.  All my hopes and dreams were changed in the blink of an eye.

Isn’t it funny how that happens?  We go through life with our own expectations – we look down the road and try to see what the future holds, but God has it already mapped out for us.  We think somehow we are in control of our destiny, but it really isn’t in our hands at all.  God has a plan for us and if we let Him do His work, we can be sure it will be for our good.

No one was ever going to believe my story.  My character would be put on the line and the shame to my family would be horrific.  Still I had confidence that God knew what He was doing with me.

Now as I look back, I can see Him weaving the threads together with great craftsmanship – designing all the patterns that would fill my life with the pieces that would finally result in  His artistry.  At the time though, I had no clue what He had in mind for me.  All I knew is that whatever it was, I would be blessed along with all the rest of humanity.

I had nothing to go on except His promise and the words spoken by Him through His prophet Isaiah.  “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  God with us – and He is.