Christmas Eve - Mary Letter Day 23

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the LORD,
the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:1-10

Dear Elizabeth,

I am writing this from a stable and my pains have begun in earnest! We hunted high and low for a room but there were none to be had in the whole city. A kind man finally offered us the stable behind his inn when he saw the shape I was in. His wife and son brought blankets and clean straw for us to rest on, but I cannot rest for more than a minute at a time. I am not sure that I will make it through. The final days of the trip really took their toll and I was exhausted when we arrived. And now, the child will come to exhausted parents in a barn, surrounded by animals! What would Momma think about all of this?

Miriam, the inn keeper's wife, has gone off to collect the wise women to help me through the labor. Joseph is terrified of all of this but is putting on a brave face. He tried to help as he can but his experience with sheep giving birth doesn't seem to be helping very much! He keeps apologizing that there was only a stable for us. He tried so hard! We had no idea that it would be like this. Even his relatives had no room since they had many, many guests already. 

This letter has to come to an end. It has taken me a long time to write very little since I have to stop so often because of the pain. The women are arriving! Oh, how I ache for Momma and would it be that she could be with me. But, here we are, and God has brought us to this place, so I have to trust that God will see me through!

love,

Mary