“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. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:4&5 NIV
Mary and Joseph, along with a lot of other people, begin their journeys to the towns they were originally from. Research shows that Bethlehem was a 4 to 7 day walk from Nazareth. For those who have been pregnant, please remember what it was like when you were 9 months pregnant. For those who have not been pregnant, please imagine, if you will, carrying around a 20 pound bowling ball around in front of you everywhere you go. Your back hurts, your feet swell, you become hot then cold then hot again. You are tired and just want to sit down.
Now I would like everyone to imagine being told that you have to go on a journey to a town around 90 miles away. Remember that there were no cars, buses, trains or airplanes to take you, you were going to have to walk or ride an animal if you were lucky. There were also no luggage racks to carry your belongings that you would need while you were gone, so most likely it was packed onto the animal you owned so you didn’t have to carry it. That is why I wrote that if you were lucky you could ride the animal you were taking since it was probably packed down with your belongings and not able to withstand any more weight.
So, let’s look at Mary and Joseph again. Mary is 9 months pregnant, which means it was probably a slow and long journey. She probably walked as much as she could and then Joseph most likely carried what needed to come off of the donkey so Mary could ride on the donkey for a while.
Throughout the years, between when Mary and Joseph made this long journey to Bethlehem and now, we have created this idea of a simple journey from one town to the next. This may have been because we were given very few details about that journey. However, I encourage everyone to think about what the landscape looked like in that time and how difficult a 90 mile journey was on a woman who was 9 months pregnant.
Nothing about the birth of our Savior was easy. He gave up a lot to come to earth, and His earthly parents gave up a lot to have Him and raise Him just as God the Father had planned. As we are now one day closer to Christmas, please keep in mind what Mary and Joseph went through in order to fulfill God’s will in their lives and bring the Savior in to the world.
My question is……Are you fulfilling God’s will in your life?