December 15th Advent Day 19

So, Im nearly packed to go away on holiday.  I think.    Today I took all the presents out of the case just to double check that I had everything I thought I had.   Then I unpacked one case and packed what Id removed into a different case!  And now I need to write myself a note to remind myself of the bits and pieces that need to go in at the last minute.   Josh's doggy.  Toothbrushes. The DS's and some games ( for the plane)  And some snacks.  My kids dont go long without needing to be fed. 

Wondering what to write here this evening I got to thinking about Mary and her long weary journey to Bethlehem.   She didn't actually need to go.  Joseph, as head of the house, could have gone by himself and registered them.  And they must have thought long and hard about the wisdom of Mary going too when she was so very pregnant.   I wonder how much of a hard time she was having in her home village, where everyone must have been aware that she was pregnant before being married to Joseph.  So they presumed she was an adulteress.  Many probably thought she should have been stoned.   Joseph's friends and family were possibly very annoyed at him for agreeing to continue his betrothal to Mary -  he was bringing shame on the family.  Mary was probably sidelined by the other women in the town.  Maybe even by her own family.  Or perhaps the reason she went with Joseph was because he could not bear the thought of the baby arriving whilst he was away from home.   He does certainly seem to be a caring and generous man.  Seems likely that he would neither want to leave Mary on her own in a hostile environment, nor want to miss the birth.   So she started packing for a long and difficult journey.

I wonder what they took with them.   Not much.  Maybe a change of clothes, some things for the new baby, some food.   It is possible that they joined with other people in a caravan for safety and company on the road.  Its also probable that they took a detour to avoid going through Samaria as the Samaritans were unfriendly.  The journey took maybe five or six days.   Remembering how unbearably uncomfortable I was in the last weeks of every pregnancy I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to walk or sit on a donkey all day every day for the best part of a week!!   I wonder where they stayed en route.   Bed and Breakfast?  Family or relatives?  In a tent by the side of the road??  Was it all planned before they left home or did they just take it day by day and try to find a place to stay each night.?  There were so many people on the move, going to their home towns for the census that every hostelry and inn was probably bursting at the seams.   How much of a worry must it have been to Joseph?   I wonder if Mary was having labour pains throughout the journey.


How do you plan for a trip like that??


I think every year one of these goes around on Facebook.  This one is Joseph and Mary's facebook page.  Just a bit of fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJAsUx9H8Eo

If I were Mary I know exactly what I would have been thinking throughout.  I would have been saying '  God, you told me I am chosen to carry Your Son.  You promised me blessing and told me I am highly favoured, so WHY am I having to trek across the country just before Im due to give birth?  Couldnt You have arranged the census in three weeks time?  What if I give birth on the way?  Are You really in control?  How am I going to cope?  What if we cant find anywhere to stay in Bethlehem?'   etc etc


I wonder what God said to her to reassure her.


God presumably could indeed have arranged the census at a different time, but then the Old testament prophecies would not have been fulfilled.  Mary 
couldn't see the bigger picture.  The sweep of history. She just had to trust.


Same for us.  Life is often tricky.  Not ideal.  Inconvenient and troublesome and it is easy to doubt that God is there, involved, working all things together for good.   But like Mary, all we can do is go on the journey, trusting Him.


Lord, when the road is long and rough, when things are uncertain and not as we have planned, when we feel unprepared and anxious, help us to trust You.  Give us the attitude of Mary who said   
I am the Lord's servant, may it happen to me as you have said.  Luke 1 38

Just had another thought.   Mary packed her bags for a short trip to Bethlehem and back.  But of course she didn't go home.  Ended up in Egypt.   And I'll bet she hadn't packed her bikini.