I bet the guy (Mr. Murphy?) who came up with Murphy’s Law went through a divorce. How else could he have known how to so perfectly describe what going through a divorce is like? Ol’ Murphy said: “Everything that can go wrong will go wrong at the absolute worst possible time.” Yup, that sounds like divorce.

Well, guess who else can totally relate to us? The Blessed Mother. The Church celebrates with high esteem the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord each year. This is to recognize the miracle of Mary becoming pregnant with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Something tells me that while Mary was obedient to God’s plan, I’m not sure she was dancing a jig for joy right after Gabriel departed. She was not officially married to Joseph, and now she was pregnant–and Joseph was not even the father. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was saying to herself, “Why this?! Why now?! This is not at all what I expected!” And, yet, we know that from that singular event, the greatest good ever known to mankind resulted: Jesus.

The next time something happens that you were not expecting, and it seems like it is happening at the worst possible time, think of Mary and find comfort. God’s plans, and His timing, are often very different from ours. What can seem like a catastrophe in the making can actually be a miracle in disguise.

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” – Luke 1:38

Originally posted 2014-11-06 06:00:05.