by Barbara Chadwick and Audrey Wauson
One month. We’re going to
stay one month. It took several days to pack. I kept finding things I would
surely need. At last we were ready for the trip.
On December 19th
we boarded a plane in Denver. Our itinerary was Denver to Seattle to Ketchikan
to Sitka, Alaska.
We had smooth connections and pleasant seat
mates. However, for much of the trip we had serious turbulence. It was like
riding a wildly bucking bronco. There was a crying baby – maybe I should call
it a screaming baby – for the entire trip. In addition, there was a crying cat
across the aisle. Don’t know if it was reacting to the baby, or scared or just
unhappy at being put in a bag under a plane seat!
After my six hour plus trip
I was very tired with a headache, backache and just wanted to put my head down
on a pillow for a day or two of rest.
During those hours on the
plane I thought of Mary; nine months pregnant, away from family and in
unfamiliar, possibly unsafe territory, riding on a donkey. My trip was really a
piece of cake in comparison.
I have to stop here and
say that scripture does not say that Mary rode on a donkey. That picture has
become a tradition. I suppose it was expected that being nine months pregnant
she could not have walked the approximately 75 miles from Nazareth to
Bethlehem.
Pregnant, at nine months,
it’s hard to get comfortable. No position feels good. Mostly miserable is what
you feel. Walking feels more like waddling and riding on a donkey would surely have
felt like rolling around on top of a beach ball!
I can only imagine how
uncomfortable and weary she must have been that last day or two before her
firstborn son, the Savior of the world was born. I wonder if she had to keep
reminding herself that this was indeed going to be a blessing.
But let’s go back to the
beginning of this journey:
In
the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
to
a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.
The
virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you
who
are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at
his
words
and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to
her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with
child
and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
He
will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will
give
him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of
Jacob
forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary
asked the
angel,
"since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will
come
upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one
to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke
1:26-35
Now read the words she
said after receiving this amazing message.
"I am
the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have
said." Luke 1:38
Blessed is
she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! And
Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. Luke 1:45-49
Beautiful. Just imagine how it would be for us if we could
respond to the Lord with similar words of acceptance and obedience in every
situation. “I am the Lord’s servant…My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior…”
Mary was ready for the
trip to Bethlehem.
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