After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean." Matthew 2:13-15,19-23
Dear Mama and Papa,
I was so excited to be coming home and now I am so very sad. We cannot come home yet. The visit of the wise men was wonderful and extraordinary, and we were so hopeful but now our hopes are dashed! The hunt for our child has been intensified and Joseph had a dream that warned him not to go home. Oh, Mama, I can't keep from crying, and I am useless as we are packing up and waiting for nightfall. There is some good news in all of this, I guess. Joseph has all of our papers which will be good for the border crossing, and we have plenty of money right now due to the extraordinary gifts from those amazing visitors. God does provide, Papa, but not how I want it. I want to be home with you and Mama! I don't know a thing about Egypt, which is where we are headed. I pray that we can find safety and community there until the threat is gone.
I didn't expect that this would be easy, but I was hoping it wouldn't be quite so hard. I know I'm complaining like a child, but I can't help it! Another country, another language and another set of rules and laws. I guess I have much to learn, and I don't really have any choice. I will write when we are safe in Egypt. The journey is pretty short, Joseph tells me. He has been a wonderful caretaker for both of us, Mama and Papa. I am grateful you allowed us to be married. Please though, pray for us as this is going to be a very long night of travel. Pray for our little boy that we can keep him safe.
All my love,
Mary
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