Save Me - Mary Letter Day 18

1 Save me, O God, by your Name; *

in your might, defend my cause. 

2 Hear my prayer, O God; * 

give ear to the words of my mouth. 

3 For the arrogant have risen up against me, 

and the ruthless have sought my life, * 

those who have no regard for God. 

4 Behold, God is my helper; * 

it is the Lord who sustains my life. 

5 Render evil to those who spy on me; * 

in your faithfulness, destroy them. 

6 I will offer you a freewill sacrifice * 

and praise your Name, 

O LORD, for it is good. 

7 For you have rescued me 

from every trouble, * 

and my eye has seen 

the ruin of my foes. Psalm 54

Dear Elizabeth,

I am writing to you as I don't want to scare Mama and Papa. I hope this letter gets to you safely, and that we can find our way safely to Bethlehem. We started out last night after the sun had set. Mama cried a good deal and I did too. The road was very dark and stony, so we had to go very slowly. Just at the outskirts of town we felt that we were being followed. I have never been so scared in my life! Joseph found a small cave, had me dismount and hide in it. Men from our town came up to him, yelling and screaming. They wanted to know where I was but Joseph would not tell them. I could hear it all and was shaking the whole time. They roughed him up a little bit and then finally left. He came into the cave and we huddled there all night. He had me repeat Psalm 54 with him, over and over, in the dark until sleep finally came. This morning, when the sun came up, I saw he was bruised and bloodied. How brave he is! I used a cloth to clean him up and we ate a breakfast of dates and nuts. We left then and went on to the house of his cousin, who was so terrified. She had been waiting up all night. When we didn't arrive, she sent her sons out to find us and they came back empty handed.

Miriam is beautiful, despite her age and deep wrinkles. She made us a soft bed and wants us to stay several days. She believes the terror of last night needs healing time. Joseph is anxious to get back on the road tonight, but he agreed to stay over. He is bruised and sore, so rest will do him good. She is feeding us like we are royalty and won't let me help at all. She has sons and daughter-in-laws who help out, but she, in her great age, is still vibrant and strong. I hope I grow to be a little like her some day.

Tomorrow I will write to Mama. I am still a bit shaken and upset and don't want her to worry. Pray for us as this journey already seems like a very rough and winding road.

love,

Mary