December 24, 2025
I recently asked a good friend of mine, who is a priest, how he deals with people around him that do not always respect his vocation. His answer was simple, “I have just learned to lower my expectations”. Wouldn’t this sort of acceptance save us a lot of grief from time to time? Now understand, there is a difference between compromising your beliefs and accepting people for who they are. But we continually put unrealistic expectations on those around us, and it just adds to our stress and our view of them as a whole. How can they see us for who we are if we are not seeing them for who they are?
As we gather as a family over the holidays, remember that people are no longer who we once viewed them to be, nor can they be. People grow, lives change, circumstances change and faith changes. Ask necessary questions of those you gather with to learn about who they are NOW. I mean really, each week when we gather at mass, we expect the readings and the preacher to meet us where “we are at” in our faith journey so we can best relate to God and vice-versa.
When Mary prayed for a place to settle after the long road to Bethlehem, I am sure she never envisioned a stable full of animals as the place God would provide for the birth of His only son. But she and Joseph made it work because she released her expectation and knew that their faith had gotten them this far and they would be cared for all the way through. And imagine how shocked the wise men must have been to find the “new King” as a newborn in a manger.
Do not let frustration take control of you, just let natural events take their course and stay true to the person you want to be. If you provide the same light as “the star” that shined so brightly that Christmas night to guide so many, the rest will just fall into place. Let us not be so demanding of others because God is not so demanding of us. It was because of our imperfection that God readjusted “His expectation” of us and sent us a Savior instead of expecting us to do it on our own.
Merry Christmas and may all of the graces that God places in your life be recognized this holiday season!
Posted by Greg Wasinski
