Mary Letter Day Eighteen

The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgements, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But they refused to listen, and turned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. Just as, when I called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the Lord of hosts, and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate. Zechariah 7:8-14

Dear Auntie,

We traveled overnight for several hours, but I was so tired we had to find a different place to stay other than with the relatives we had planned. I had been riding for a time on the donkey, and it was immediately uncomfortable and eventually, painful. Joseph helped me down and decided quickly that we should just stop and rest. We laid down our blankets, off the road in a small cave. It was small and the night so warm and clear, we just tucked ourselves in with our heads sticking out. Joseph fed and watered the donkey, and we gazed at the stars until we fell asleep. When we woke up with the first light, we could not believe how crowded and noisy the road was. When the initial rush passed us and we had our breakfast, we continued on to the house of Daniel and Esther. We are not too far from Bethlehem here.

Daniel and Esther are really old, and I hate imposing on them at all. Their little house is so snug that we decided to rest out in the air until we can get on the road again. They are very sweet and very curious, too. They pelted us with questions about distant family when we arrived. We couldn't answer but a few of their questions. Esther is an extraordinary cook! She made us a wonderful supper and then packed up more supplies for our journey. She makes wonderful, dried fruit leathers and we have been nibbling on them all day. She patted my tummy, while we were packing, and told me I needed to snack regularly to keep up my strength and his. How did she know it was a boy? We've been careful to keep our story to ourselves. After all we have been through, secrecy is the best policy. I'm hoping we will reach Bethlehem soon. This body is not cut out for long journeys right now!

love,

Mary