Night Turns to Day - Shepherd's Tale

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. Luke 2:8-9

All the sheep were safely in the fold
the campfire lit to ward off wolves
or any other wild creatures on the prowl
with a taste for lamb.
Old Josiah was part way though one of his night time stories.
Young Ethan was struggling to keep his eyes open...
Yes, it was a night pretty much like any other.

Then suddenly it wasn't.
There was this incredibly bright blinding light,
which was pretty freaky!
Why had night turned in to day?
Was it going to stay this way?
Understandably we shielded our eyes....
OK, I will be honest,
we hid.
Why?
We were petrified.
Where was the light coming from
and why?

Then, as our eyes adjusted
we could see a large angelic figure.
"My time has come!" announced Josiah, collapsing in a heap.
"Mine too!" echoed Jethroe, not wanting to miss out on the drama...
As for me, I couldn't say a word.
I was speechless. For a change

No Room at the Inn - Innkeeper's Wife

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:7

It was late in the day when they appeared at our door.
Unfortunately every available seat, or space for sleeping, was already occupied.
The poor lass was clearly done in
and I am not surprised,
Having to travel all that way in her condition.

You can tell this census business was planned by a man,
and one many miles away
no real consideration for how it will affect the people involved,
no thought for the women and children
no thought for how the census could be managed
- oh no they think it will all happen by magic.

From the look on the man's face he knew that we were full before he even asked the question.
The deafening noise from within was a bit of a giveaway.
Have you noticed that the more people there are in a room,
the louder they all bellow,
in an attempt to make themselves heard over the rest.
Then the ale kicks in and it all gets even louder
as each one believes they are the only person who has a grasp of current affairs.
Inside, three planning committees are in the process of being formed,
to improve management of the next census...
Daft lot, as if the Romans are going to take any notice of them!

Anyway, back to the late arrivals.
My heart went out to them.
But what could I do to help them?
Then I had a brain wave!
"Look, I know is it not much,
but there is an animal shelter close by where you could rest,
until you find somewhere better."
The man's face lit up.
"We just need somewhere to rest.
Thank you so much!"
The woman, well I say woman,
but she was little more than a slip of a thing,
just smiled this beautiful smile,
as if I had offered them the best room in the house,
rather than a dingy, drafty, dirty animal shelter.
I showed the way,
"It is not much,
but I don't think you can go much further, dear.
It looks like it won't be long before your baby is here!"
The couple agreed,
and the young woman made herself a comfy with some animal bedding.
Then left them to settle,
whilst I fetched some rugs and refreshments.

That baby must have been listening
Because by the time I returned,
her labour was well underway.
Given her youth, I suspected that it was her first pregnancy,
so I expected the delivery to take some time,
but, no, this baby has decided that it was time to put in an appearance.

I have helped deliver babies in the Inn before,
and plenty of animal births have taken place in this shelter,
but this was the first baby born here as far as I am aware.

Meanwhile, when I returned to the inn,
My husband was still only partway through his epic monologue on goverments,
planning and innkeeping...
As long as he gave away free drinks, he had a captive audience.
Though he appeared not to have noticed that most of them were fast asleep.
I think I shall join them..."

Blessings of Travel - Joseph

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. Luke 2:4

Nazareth to Bethlehem, is a lot further than you remember,
especially when accompanied by a heavily pregnant wife.

It is a relatively straight forward journey if you are fit and healthy.
OK, it takes a few days.
I always enjoy the journey,
observing the way the landscape changes.
Sleeping under the stars by a campfire,
or spending the night in a travellers inn.
I have made the journey quite a few times
and it always feels like an adventure,
a break from the regular routine.

This time it was different.
Mary never complained,
but I could see that she was struggling.
It may have been my imagination,
but it looked to me as if the baby dropped a bit lower
with every step she took.

Every time I felt anxious,
I turned at looked at Mary.
She was so incredibly calm,
and then I would feel this incredible peace spread over me.
It must be contagious!

As we travelled, we had time to talk,
not just chat, but to really talk,
about our childhoods, like likes and dislikes,
hopes, fears, dreams.
I am usually the quiet one, content to listen
and leave space for others to share,
but I must admit that as we travelled I did much of the talking,
as Mary was finding it harder to breath.
But it was a very special time.
A gift from God,
albeit via Quirinius and Caersar Augustus.

Without the directive from Rome,
requiring the journey to Bethlehem,
We never would have spent this time together.
We would have been too busy,
me working and Mary keeping house and resting.
Although I am pleased to see our desination appearing into sight,
I shall miss this precipous time we have had together.

Now just the small matter of finding a place to stay.
Other travellers are pouring into town,
laughter, and loud voices sounding from every doorway and window.
The town looks full,
I have no idea where we are going to spend the night.
I will just keep asking at every door,
until God reveals where we shall stay.

Getting Accustomed to the Unpredictable - Joseph

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) Luke 2:1-2

'Look on the bright side." I said to Mary,
"The announcement of the Census is now the major topic of discussion,
and your 'surprise' pregnancy is now yesterday's news!"
"Imagine losing count during a census,
and having to start again..." giggled Mary.
" I should imagine they keep very accurate records, " I replied,
though I was amused at the idea of the census counters getting say 50,000 in,
losing count and having to start again....
"They may want to know exactly how much money they can raise through taxation."
"I wonder if this one will arrive before the census."Mary pondered.
"Time will tell, meanwhile we have a journey to go on, I am afraid."
"Do we need to go far, " asked Mary, stroking her heavily extended stomach.
"Bethlehem, where my family is desend from.
Just a few days journey.
We will take it slowly..."

I took care to inject a note of optimism into my voice,
but in reality I really was quite worried.
It really wasn't ideal for a heavily pregnant woman to travel that distance.
To make things worse, Mary is still quite young
and this is her first child.
What if things go wrong?

I can't pull the wool over Mary's eyes, though.
She suddenly reached out and took my hand, and said.
"Don't worry, Joseph, God has got all this planned,
right down to when and where the baby will be born.
Our role is to trust the plan of the Creator God,
and to follow instructions,
whether from God or Caesar Augustus."
We smiled at each other.
"You are right, Mary.
I am sorry, I was used to a life where things were certain.
I knew what I was going to make,
what wood and tools I would use,
When I would start and stop work each day,
what I would eat,
and where I would sleep.
I even thought I knew when I was getting married,
but God changed that as well!.
God has changed a lot of things recently,
and I think more changes lie ahead,
but I am getting accostomed to the unpredictable."
Mary smiled.
"At least the intended wife stayed the same!"

Stepdad in Waiting - Joseph

But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew1:25

Mary is back from her stay with her cousin Elizabeth.
It did her the world of good to get away from all the stares and nudges.
Everyone is convinced that we have pre-emped our wedding vows.
I notice the furtive looks,
and those who turn away.
I can hardly blame them,
after all, I jumped to the same conclusion, myself!
Mary, however, appears not to notice,
and she probably doesn't.
Mary, is a very special person,
as you have probably realised by now.
She genuinely sees the good in everyone.

To think I came so close to losing her,
because I dismissed what she said as fanciful nonsense!
I am so grateful for the dream I had,
it helped me to understand a bit of God's plans
and how we fit in to them.
Now Mary is here with me,
rather sooner than we imagined.
But we shall wait until after the baby is born,
before we get more intimate.
I want there to be no doubt,
that this baby IS the Son of God.
Already, my heart is filled with such love for him.
I will love and care for him, as if he was biologically mine.
Yes he will study scriptures,
but I will also teach him to be a skilled carpenter, too!

What have I learnt so far?
That sometimes God asks you to follow his plans,
and set aside your own.
When that happens,
you have to say yes,
because he is God.

His name is John - Elizabeth

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote,
“His name is John.”
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.
All the neighbours were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
Luke 1:59-79

My beloved son is a week and a day old
and already it feel like he has been here forever.
What did I do with my time before I was feeding, changing and nursing an infant?
Today our son will be circumcised in accordance with the law.
I try not to think about that too much,
but if God has plans for him,
then our responsibility is to bring him up according to the law.

They gathered round our son to carry out the procedure
and were all set to name him Zechariah after his father.
However, his name had already been chosen by God,
and it is most definitely NOT Zechariah!
So I just had to speak
"No! He is to be called John!"
Well that set the cat among the pigeons.
Firstly, a woman speaking out.
Secondly, a woman challenging them.
Thirdly, providing an answer they didn't expect.
They all turned and looked at me.
I didn't let my gaze waver,
for I knew the name that God had given him.
"John?" they queried.
I could see them mentally going through our family tree,
trying to identify a 'John' he could be named after,
and failing.
"There is no-one in your family with that name?"
They turned and looked at John to see what his thoughts were,
but of course, he was still unable to speak,
so he asked for a writing tablet,
and wrote "His name is John".

Well, I was astounded at what happened next.
I have to admit, I never saw this coming at all.
As soon as he confirmed what I had told them,
Zech instantly regained the power of speech.
Goodness me!
Didn't that set all the other tongues wagging!
Zech and I had a jolly good laugh about that, I can tell you.
We were the talk of the village,
the area,
the world probably!
Then they all knew for sure that this child was going to be very special.

Just one thought I have,
If I hadn't spoken up
Zechariah could never have disagreed with me ever again....
Though I have to say, it is lovely to hear his voice once more!

Great Celebrations - The Neighbours

When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. Luke 1:57-58

A group of women stood chatting
"Did you hear that?"
"The sound of baby crying? Not really an unusual sound, is it?"
"Yes, but where the sound is coming from?
I just don't recognise that cry..."
"It's not James' house, the twins are still asleep
Besides they always cry together and that a single cry."
"Louder than two babies, though"

"True!"
Nor is it baby Mirriam. Her cry is higher pitched."
"That is true."
"..and it isn't Suzannah's baby either,
as she is visiting her mother."
"One thing for certain, that baby knows its mind.
That is a very uncompromising yell!"
"It certainly is, but I cannot work out where it is coming from."

Just then a midwife appeared in the doorway of Zechariah's house.
"Oh my goodness! It is Elizabeth's baby!"
"Is everything OK?"
"Oh yes!" said the midwife, everything went very well
and the baby certainly has a good pair of lungs!"
"WE KNOW!" chorused the women.
"Let us know when we can visit and see this miracle baby."
The midwife disappeared back inside.

A few minutes later the midwife reappeared.
"Come and see the child."
The women didn't hesitate.
They entered the house and saw Elizabeth cradling her son.
The women marvelled at the dark curls and long eye lashes of the sleeping child.
"He is absolutely perfect."
"I am so pleased for you."
"You are truly blessed."
"The Lord answered our prayers." rejoiced Elizabeth,
"and he has a special task for this child.
"The Lord is good!" rejoiced the women.