Advent Poem Reflection: Donkey

Donkey

"Too small," they all thought, and passed me on by,

But the beautiful lady looked in my eyes,

“This one has heart!” She said with a smile,

“He will carry me safely mile after mile.”

 

Off to Bethlehem we went,

But nowhere to be found a place to rent.

An abandoned old cave is where we stayed,

Drafty and cold, a poor shelter it made.

 

Light blinded my eyes; I could barely see!

There were angels all around singing, “Glory!”

In the arms of the lady, a baby boy was asleep,

The Son of God made flesh, a mystery so deep.

For unto us a child is born.

“God bless the broken road that led me straight to you!”

This popular country song by Rascal Flatts has a way of haunting the listener.

It’s a catchy ballad, played at many a wedding to symbolize the unique and often unexpected circumstances that the couple has faced to end up standing at the altar.

I myself can look back at the circumstances in my own life and marvel at how I got to where I am now!

It reminds me of another fabulous country song, Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks.  If you aren’t a country music fan and don’t know either song, the title of both is essentially also the punch line of both.  

Would I embarrass myself if I shared stories of plans I had made that were never realized?  Of the prayers I had prayed that I thought went unanswered?  Of tears I had shed over dreams crushed?

I think of the terror we felt when Adam left the family farm shortly after we were married.  He took a minimum-wage job hauling hogs to the slaughterhouse, while I made just enough selling feed at the local feed mill to keep a bit of food on the table.

I think of the sleepless nights that both of us experienced- me raising three babies alone, while he worked 60+ hours a week out in the oil fields, while taking college classes, getting a 5-year degree in 3 years.  We often wondered and prayed if the risk was worth the reward.

Walking with and advocating for one of our kids with mental health concerns.  Were we doing enough for him?  Were the choices we were making the right ones?  Were we, and was he, going to be ok?

I could keep going and give you a whole novel's worth of content!  Times when we were holding on by a thread, trusting that God would see us through to the other side.

We’ve had disappointments, heartaches, surprises, miracles, and more joy than we deserve.

Oftentimes, our story doesn’t make sense in the moment.  It is only when we look in our rearview mirror that we can put all those pieces together and marvel at the masterpiece Our Lord created in what we thought was scary chaos.

The middle of our story doesn't always make sense.

The little donkey in our Advent Poem is a prime example of this.  Thanks to Herod calling a census, there were people traveling in record numbers.  It was an all-hands-on-deck situation.  Traveling supplies, especially pack animals, were hard to come by.  In the private revelations of Mother Agreda, she had a vision of the donkey that Mary and Joseph chose. It was a small, unpretentious animal.  But blessed was this beast above all, getting to carry Our Lady all the way to Bethlehem!

Obviously, donkeys don’t have human emotions, but for the sake of this reflection, let’s personify him.  This tiny, rejected animal watched as all of his pen mates were chosen, and yet here he sat.

He was embarrassed and humiliated as he dreamt of the exciting adventures his friends and siblings got to embark on, while he was overlooked because of his tiny stature.

How could he know that what he thought was rejection was actually him being saved for a greater purpose?  The young lady, just 14 years old, chose him to carry her and her precious cargo, neatly stowed away in her swollen belly.

How could he ever have imagined that he would share the sacred place where heaven touched earth and God Himself became man?

The middle of our story doesn’t always make sense, but God will bless our broken roads and lead us straight to Him.

Until next time, your sister in Christ,

Leah