Reflection of Providence

“You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.” – Psalm 92:4 *I get to cheat a bit. I have actually written on Simeon twice. The first blog post got deleted by mistake. Last year I revisited his story through "Anna's Candles". Of all the people that took part in the Christmas Story, Simeon is my favorite...let us step into his story and see what we find:  Jesus Presented in the Temple 22  Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present  Him  to the Lord  23  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), [ a ]   24  and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” [ b ] Simeon Sees God’s Salvation 25  And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name  was  Simeon, and this man  was  just and

“Because of love, God trusted a brave young woman and an honest, hardworking carpenter with the precious gift of his Son.” (p.108, Women of Christmas, Higgs) “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.” – Matthew 1:16 The Nativity is a lovely little movie, and it does a really wonderful job fleshing out Joseph. Oscar Isaac (who plays Joseph) displays the complexity, kindness, and devotion of this man in a beautiful way. I ponder this gentle, righteous, and obedient man. His actions fulfill prophecy! He walks with dignity and serves God with his whole heart. He is quick to follow the Lord’s prompting. He is a minor character, so it seems, but his actions speak volumes of who he serves. I cannot imagine being Mary, a young woman in her early teens, expecting a child and never knowing the touch of a man. The weight of enormity must have been crushing. How was she to convince her parents, much less the man she was betroth