Sometimes the most extraordinary events come unannounced

Sometimes the most extraordinary events come unannounced, without fanfare.  We go about our daily routines, thinking each day is very much like the previous.  But perhaps in some other home in our neighborhood lives are changing in the most remarkable ways.

One chilly morning was very much like the day before it.  Across the world, people woke early so as to get a good start on chores.  Families washed up for breakfast, morning fires were stoked, parents assigned the day's tasks and reprimanded or encouraged their children.  It was an ordinary day a day like all the rest.  A landlord thought of the young couple, the wife heavy with child, seeking shelter in his inn.  

He wished he had something more comfortable to offer them than a stable.  And shepherds stood watch over their flocks, anticipating a quiet and uneventful night to come.

A day like any other.  And yet, that evening, a child was born.  And the world changed forever.

Some days we anticipate more than others.  We look forward to vacations and homecomings and celebrations.  But in the "ordinary" days between, we interact with friends and strangers.  And perhaps something we consider unremarkable, a kind word, a simple act of charity makes an ordinary day extraordinary for someone else.

One day a child was born to a poor family.  On that ordinary day, shepherds in a field heard a chorus of angels.  That day we now anticipate and celebrate.  Most of our days are ordinary days.  Around us are the poor and the downhearted, the afflicted and the sorrowing.  Can we give shelter and comfort?  Can we offer compassion and solace?  When we do, we make an ordinary day extraordinary for someone in need.