God Couldn't Wait

Read LUKE 2:1-14, (15-20)

FROM THE ARTIST | LISLE GWYNN GARRITY

What If God Had Waited?
What if God had waited
For Mary to be wed,
For Herod to relent,
For a legitimate birthing bed?
What if God had waited
Until the powerful promoted
peace,
And the politicians agreed?
What if God had waited
For a plan with no risk of failure,
For a place that felt safe
and secure?
What if God had waited
For the anxious to find rest,
For the cynic to know hope,
For the brokenhearted to
be whole?
For the wars to cease,
For the violence to end,
For the fears to pass,
For the weapons to be banned?

What if God had waited
For the earth to heal,
For the laws to change,
For every life to matter
the same,
For the addict to be freed
from shame,
For the refugees to not
be blamed?
What if God had waited
Until all was calm,
All was bright,
For a future that might
Never come?
What if God had waited?
But God couldn’t wait.
God couldn’t wait to be love
known in flesh and bone—
And neither should we.

Prayer: Breathe deeply as you gaze upon the image below. Imagine placing
yourself in this scene. What do you see? How do you feel? Get quiet and still, offering a silent or spoken prayer to God.