God, You, & Luke 2: Day 19

I noticed a couple of "bookends" when I read our passage today.

The first one jumped out at me when the shepherds were introduced and we saw their reaction to what was happening.

[8] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
(Luke 2:8-9 ESV)

Fear.

I noticed the second one near the end of our passage where there is the last mention of the shepherds and their reaction to what happened.

[20] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
(Luke 2:20 ESV)

Glorifying and Praising God = Joy.

How was the shepherd's initial fear morphed into the joy of glorifying and praising God?

They became part of a great story. A life changing story.

They had an encounter with the Savior.

Who changed lives even as he was wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.