Do you and your family enjoy heaps of delicious food on Christmas? Turkey or Ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream?
Do you live in a nice warm house? Can you prepare the meal with a good stove or microwave? Do you have a refrigerator in which you'll put the delicious leftovers? Will everyone get wonderful gifts?
Compare that with the night the Son of God was born. He wasn’t born in a warm hospital like we were! He was born in a cold, dark, musty stable. Did some well-trained doctor deliver the Son of God? No, it was probably some local midwife—or Joseph.
And don’t even mention sanitary conditions! Then He was laid in the manger–a trough from which the cattle ate! (And perhaps some of them were standing nearby.) As a mom you want the best for your child. And Mary was so young... how did she handle all this? With faith, I imagine.
How did they travel? For several days Mary rode on an uncomfortable donkey and Joseph walked the long dusty road, up and down hills. The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem probably took several long, tiring days. I thought about it today while driving to mom's. Labor is terrible anyway... how long was she in labor before she had her baby? Did she have the painful birth we all experienced or did God show her some mercy since it was His Son? I think about those things.
They probably ate stale bread and cheese for supper that night instead of a nice hot wonderful dinner. When they finally arrived at Bethlehem, they found all the inns were full because many of other descendants of David who had come to Bethlehem to be taxed. The only thing left was a cave where the animals sheltered.
We are so comfortable in our lives in our homes. Think about what happened that night and praise God for His provisions. Especially His Son!!!!
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