The Christmas story is one of, if not the, most beloved stories in the scripture. We set up the “manger scene,” and some additional pieces as the story unfolds. The stable, the manger, and the hay.  For years we read the texts and quote much of it by heart. It wouldn’t be Christmas without those holy texts. The angels, the animals, the shepherds, and the wise men. What would the story be without the blessed service of three significant women? Each of these women are—carriers of the promise and presence of God.

All three of these women carried inside of them the promise of their Savior—the Messiah.  The Christmas women all spent time in the presence of God so, when God’s promises were present in their lives they immediately recognized them.  The experiences of each woman in the Christmas story affected people around them as they pointed the world to Christ.  All three believed in the promises of God and trusted in God’s timing.

Mary, the pregnant teenager… I’m sure must have felt like the worst Christmas ever. Teen pregnancies are not easy. There’s a certain stigma that a young girl faces when she announces that she is pregnant. I’m sure Mary didn’t have in her pocket calendar to get pregnant, and most certainly not by anyone other than her soon to be husband. How do you explain it to your family and friends? What will the folks think at the synagogue? How do you explain that you’re not pregnant because you’ve done something you shouldn’t, but because you were obedient to God? I can hear the hiss of the self-righteous from 2,000 years way.

Carrying the promise of God, for Mary, wasn’t convenient nor comfortable. It was a problematic but incredible journey, and yet God calls us to carry the promise within us as well. Inconvenient and uncomfortable, the job is laborious and often leave us with a lifetime of stretch marks.

Elizabeth, the middle-aged woman…the “late in life” baby. The promise came from an angel to Zechariah while working in the temple. He couldn’t believe this promise and was struck mute for nine long months. Elizabeth believed and carried John the Baptizer, who would one day prepare the way for Christ.

This Christmas ponder why we should be so mute in our praise of the promise and presence of God. When you think of the blessings and assurance that God has given to you, protect those promises! Join others who also carry hope in their heart.

Anna, the widowed servant of God. The last of the trilogy of Christmas women is the only one of the three who did not carry a baby in her womb; however, she too carried the promise and presence of God.

Anna knew struggles and hardships. She was widowed at a young age and birthed no children. In Biblical times, a woman who was unmarried and childless wasn’t worth much to society. An “unimportant” Anna soon becomes a very important prophetess. The text indicates that she waited expectantly for the salvation of Israel.

Families with young children watch the eager expectation of gifts and stockings, and perhaps a little nervous anticipation of what Santa will bring the next morning. Anna, and others waiting expectantly for the promises of God to be fulfilled in a mighty way, yet the fulfillment would not be easy. Anna had waited for sixty years.

Maybe you have been waiting for a long time to see a fulfillment of God’s presence and promise. We may be tempted to move on, or give up, or throw in the towel. Anna shows us how to wait—patiently, reverently, and prayerfully for the manifestation of God’s promise.

My Christmas prayer for you is to carry the promises and presence of God with you in life. It’s not easy, and your life will be very different, yet in time you will realize the power of God’s plan. Carry the promise, even when it seems ridiculous or doubtful, God has a way of working with the expected. Carry the promise in you regardless if you feel like it or not. It may take nine months or sixty years, but God always keeps his promise.