They Had No Idea

I wonder what those who were present at the circumcision of John (the Baptist) thought years later. When they witnessed all of the wonderful signs surrounding the coming of this child into the world, they sure that the "hand of the Lord" was with him. They probably speculated that he would turn out to be an important man, perhaps a leader of their community. Maybe they even wondered if he could be THE ONE.
Flash forward thirty or so years, and we find John living in the desert, feasting on locusts and wild honey, ranting and raving about repentance. Wow! Not exactly what they were thinking at his birth. But that is because they were thinking in human terms, just like we do. No one of us would want our child to aspire to the kind of life John lived. Rejected, made fun of, imprisoned and finally beheaded. But we forget - that was the path that God laid out for him. That was the way that John fulfilled God's will. And that was the way that John made it to heaven. Certainly not easy, certainly not pretty, but clearly he fulfilled God's will. And today he is revered as a great saint.
Funny thing about sainthood. It is usually not an easy path, usually not pretty. But it is always marked by doing God's will. As we succumb to the hustle and bustle of Christmas, we need to remember that God indeed does have a plan for each of us. And the end of each and every one of those plans is sainthood - eternal happiness with Him. So we also have to remember to try and ask ourselves each day "What does God want for me today?" "What is God's will for me?"
We also have no idea where it will lead us in life or how difficult it will be. All we can be sure of is, doing God's will here will definitely lead us to sainthood!
I will try to post during these  next few days, but no guarantees due to the very full schedule. To all who stop by and receive any of These Simple Gifts that I offer, Thank You and Merry Christmas!