Welcome back to to another post. We’re preparing for Christmas with our little advent focus… I’m actually combining a couple of lessons from our study because we missed a week travelling… did you even notice? I did. Nonetheless, the kid and I have made it back safely to Itsnottafarm and have resumed our rather boring existence. Winter hit. I’m bummed out about it. So let’s talk more about our vacation instead, okay?

I love to try new foods when on vacation. Obviously, when you are in a new place, there are things that you do that are “out of the ordinary”. That’s the point, right? Vacations are supposed to be when you see new things, try new foods, and throw a few extra ordinary things in there. And of course we did this on our little mini getaway, too. Two restaurants on our list whenever we go to the USA are Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel. We used to have Olive Garden here in Canada, but no longer… and it is a shame. All you can eat bread sticks? Yes, please.

Anyway, amid our navigational disasters, we did manage to make it to an Olive Garden. And it was worth the drive. Our waiter bamboozled us a little into getting extra dipping sauces… but hey, we were on vacation. Alfredo for the win! I suppose pasta places are not unusual as far as restaurants go, but anything different from “home” is worth it. Our second unusual stop was a place called “Shake Shack”. A new one to me, but the “elevated” fast food joint was on the kid’s list and right next to our hotel… so it was hit up as well. Apparently the burger was great. I can say that my shake was quite good. I got a peppermint bark shake which had big chunks of real peppermint bark. I suppose the Shake Shack will be added to the list for future trips.

Being in Boston, we also had to try the “specialty”: Lobster rolls. It served as our lunch one day whilst downtown. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon… and paid through the nose for essentially a sandwich, but we did it just to say we did. Anyone have any foodie lists for vacation? What’s your extra ordinary food when you don’t want to be ordinary? Perhaps a Christmas tradition that only comes out at this time of year?

So. Let’s make our transition to our lessons, shall we? Extra ordinary. Different from the norm. On the list but not the everyday. Can we say that the birth of Jesus certainly fit in this theme? First off… no sterile hospital bed for Mary. She had the luxury suite in the barn cave of a kind inn keeper. Mary and Joseph were on a trip, but nary a fancy meal for them. No endless bread sticks on the menu. Instead? Lowly shepherds in the middle of the night. Then later, a visit from a few wise men who followed an “unusual” star. One never seen before. Yup, babies are born in the middle East all the time… but this one? Freaky all around.

If you think about it, the entire description of that Holy night was unusual. Out of the ordinary. Different in almost every way from the normal… time, place, people, creatures… how did the world not know? Did the friends of the shepherds not question their sanity? Didn’t other people see a shining light and a multitude of angels on a hill in the blackness? What did Mary think of the whole thing? Really? “Treasured up all these things in her heart” is an understatement. Crazy crazy things happened to this peasant girl and her betrothed, slightly confused husband. They’d never been through these things before… and the verses in the Bible seem to gloss through the story… because it really is extra ordinary.

Perhaps that’s why we make Christmas time extra special. Perhaps that’s why we bring out all the goodies that we only splurge on at this time of year. It is cause for celebration. It is an excuse to see the phenomenal. Angels, wise men, unnamed stars, stinky sheep and their caregivers in a foreign village in a barn. Would not be on my birth plan. Nor on my vacation list. Yet, it was all as the ancient prophets had predicted. And all according to God’s plan.

Obviously there is a lot more we could unpack in these advent days. The story of King Herod and the death of innocent babies. Who were the shepherds? The wise men? What ever happened to Joseph? The gifts? Yet, I’m going to choose to sit here with my endless supply of bread sticks and just enjoy the unusual. It’s worth the seeking to experience an “ordinary event” in an “extra ordinary” way. I’m up to try it. Are you? Let’s make it a plan to see the magic of Christmas… both past and present this year. Cheers!