The Journey Begins..

As this week started I was, and continue, to be reminded of Mary and her journey. This doesn't seem any different than any other Christmas season except for the fact that I've been reminded that her journey doesn't end with the birth of Jesus. I think this is really the beginning of the journey for her and for her baby.

So many times we look at the birth of Jesus as the end result of Christmas but there's so much more to the story than that. There's 33 years more of the story! But let's start at the beginning.

Gabriel, the angel, appeared to a young Mary who was probably only 12 or 13 years old (if she was older it wasn't by much). She most likely came from a poor family that resided in a town that had a population closer to 100 than 1,000. There was nothing great about her. To the people around her, she was nothing special to look at. In a word, she was average. But to God she was beautiful, maybe even breath taking.

When Gabriel first appeared to Mary to let her know of God's plan for her this is what he said:

"Good Morning!
You're beautiful with God's beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you." (Luke 1:26-28 from the Message)

He told her how beautiful she was before he even let her know God's plan for her. The first words out of his mouth were how beautiful she was; pretty stark contrast to how we greet those around us. Would you agree? I know I'm convicted...

Let's fast-forward a little bit. Joseph accepts Mary's pregnancy probably a little bit like any man would accept that "his woman" was pregnant and he was not the father. (Put your husband in Joseph's place and you might have an idea of what Joseph's reaction was. Not pretty, huh?) He had the legal right to divorce her or have her stoned but that wasn't a part of God's plan. So Gabriel shows up again so that Joseph would believe Mary and the plan could go as it was supposed to. Such a crazy plan, wouldn't you say?!

To make the plan even crazier, just days before delivery a VERY pregnant Mary is put on a donkey to make the 80 mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem with Joseph. Did I mention she was on a donkey just days before delivery?! Who plans something like that??? CRAZY!!! As any pregnant woman knows that's the LAST thing you want to be on, unless of course you're over due then you'll do anything!!!!

Maybe a very pregnant Mary on a donkey for three days navigating through rough terrain was part of the crazy plan. It only gets crazier!! After the journey, I'm thinking the last thing you want to hear is "sorry, no room." Having been pregnant four times, I know that's the last thing I would want to hear because no room means no bed- you get the picture!. So the plan goes on and there is no room available for them.

The impending birth is upon her and there's no privacy. No where for her to be alone with Joseph and the baby. So she ends up in the stable, which in those days could have been a cave, not the most comfortable place to have a baby. But the plan moves on and the baby is born. And with this birth we begin to see that a baby will soon change everything.