Mary and Joseph might have reached their destination of Bethlehem, but once they arrived they found that the place was heaving - jammed full, overflowing, just like the shopping centres have been these past few days.
Mary could tell that the baby wasn't going to wait much longer. They had to find somewhere to stay. But everywhere they tried was full, or fully reserved. No room for you. Go away. Find somewhere else.
Until at last, after a long search, when hope was almost gone, and they were becoming desperate, someone took pity on them.
It wasn't the best room in the house by any means. But it would do. It may not have been a labour ward in a modern hospital, but it had probably seen many births over the years, even if those were to the animals, and not people.
It did do. Whether Joseph managed to get a midwife, or had to help Mary himself, they succeeded. The baby was born, safely arrived, and Mary survived too.
She was a tough lady, to have gone through all the waiting, all the travelling, and the hard work of labour itself. I'm sure that when Jesus was born, she thought for a few moments, "I'm glad that is all over!"
And then, a few moments after that, when Jesus nuzzled up to her for his first feed, she realised that it wasn't all over - it had only just begun!
Perhaps, this Christmas-time will be like that for you. It might have been a hard journey for you, to reach your current position. You might have been searching for a long time, and finally realise that you have found it. It seems like it's all over.
And then you realise that it's just begun.
But you're not on your own. Like Mary and Joseph, God is watching over you. Indeed, he is so close that he is with you. If you invite him in, he'll be in you too, filling you with his power, his strength, and his love, for ever.
The journey ahead stretches out. The end is not in sight - but it beckons towards you. It's a place you want to be, you long to be, you can be.
Jesus said, that he would go ahead of you to prepare a place for you, and that he would come again to take you there himself, and until then he would leave you his Holy Spirit, with you, in you, for you.
The journey lies ahead. Take the next step.
No comments:
Post a Comment