According to plan

I take comfort in reading the nativity narrative
in seeing that even for the Holy Family
nothing went according to plan

Becoming pregnant out of wedlock
being poor and unprepared
to house the King of Heaven

Traveling just days before giving labor
and on a donkey at that!
With no reservations for a place to stay the night

I’m sure Mary did not plan
God’s birth to be in a barn or a cave
away from family and friends

Living his first years in exile in a strange land
the trials of finding work and food
not to mention friends or faith

And I’m sure she never thought
she would lose him in the temple
or that he wouldn’t grow out of being a rebel

Surely she did not plan for her only son
to die a criminal’s death
alone, scorned, defeated

Yet, I take comfort in her faith and hope that although her life did not go according to her plan
she lived it always according to God’s plan.