December 17, 2020

Having grown up around a stable this brings back memories & thoughts of how things must have been for Mary & Joseph. Our stable was so clean that the dirt floors in the center aisle were swept hard as concrete. It was cleaned daily with fresh straw. We only had horses & an occasional goat. But I remember the smell of clean straw, fresh hay & oats. Mary & Joseph must have noticed these things too, along with some possibly unpleasant smells. Their stable was more than likely a cave. Cold, damp & drafty. Yet they were grateful for a place out of the night, away from the many people in the city there to register. Mary was so young. Did she wish her mother or at least a mid wife was there? When the Angel told her she would bear the Christ child, her reaction was humble & willing. "Let it be as you say." Can I honestly say that I would be so willing to do such an enormous thing? When Mary met her pregnant cousin, Elizabeth, Elizabeth felt her baby leap in her womb for joy! Mary sang "My soul glorifies the Lord..." So today as Christmas nears, let's remember His humble birth, His incredible sacrifice & the reason He came into this world. In the hustle of the season, take time to smell the hay, to imagine the scene & be grateful. Merry Christmas!