Restore Your Fortunes - Advent Letters Day 17

"The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;

he will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.

Behold, at that time I will deal

with all your oppressors.

And I will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise

and renown in all the earth.

At that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes

before your eyes, " says the Lord. Zephaniah 3:17-20

Dear Elizabeth,

we finally arrived in the outskirts of Bethlehem just as the sun was setting. The town is so crowded and I felt faint with the jostling and the choking dust. We knocked at every door, offering more money than the usual rate, but no one had any room. Finally one inn keeper took pity on us and let us stay in their stable. I wasn't feeling well and he could tell. His wife went and got some of the local wise women and they looked me over. They said the baby was coming very soon. I cried after they left because I really want to be home with Momma and Daddy. Joseph gets really upset when I cry. He promised he would get up early in the morning to look for a better place for us.

Elizabeth, I am so emotional and volatile. One minute I feel positive and secure and the next minute fear overwhelms me. My body is also not helping. Sometimes I am very strong and sometimes very weak. Strange smells really bother me and make me feel sick. I hope I can sleep tonight and tomorrow we can go out and find a better place. The stable is warm because of the animals but it is also quite smelly. This place is set back from the road so a least the crowd noise is kept at bay.

I know we will be all right and that God is watching over us, yet sometimes, all these challenges make me doubt a little. Please pray for us and for the baby that we can do what is right and keep him safe one he arrives.

All my love,

Mary