Mary Letter Day Thirty

I will bless the Lord at all times; 

praise shall ever be in my mouth.

I will glory in the Lord; 

let the humble hear and rejoice. 

Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;

let us exalt his Name together. 

I sought the Lord, and he answered me 

and delivered me out of all my terror. 

Look upon him and be radiant and 

let not your faces be ashamed. 

I called in my affliction and 

the Lord heard me and saved me 

from all my troubles.

The angel of the Lord encompasses 

those who fear him, 

and he will deliver them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; 

happy are they who trust in him!

Fear the Lord, you that are his saints,

 for those who fear him lack nothing. 

The young lions lack and suffer hunger,

 but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good. 

Come, children, and listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 

Who among you loves life and desires long life to enjoy prosperity? 

Keep your tongue from evil-speaking and your lips from lying words. 

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:1-14

Dear Elizabeth,

It is a strange and often wonderful experience to be surrounded by the children of our hosts. Since they are gentiles, they regard many of our traditions as strange despite the fact that they are often treated as strangers here. It gives them a different perspective because they are often disregarded as important by the occupying army or our religious leaders. They are like little spies, as no one takes any notice of them. They often sit playing in the streets, listening in on the conversations of the soldiers who hang around the markets, totally unaware of the children. I tell you this because they came running back to me, while Jospeh was out, to say there's trouble in the palace. King Herod is worried about the birth of another king, a Jewish king, like David. They say he is afraid and angry. I hope he doesn't know about this child of mine!

We have done the proper rituals at the temple here. Since we were strangers, they took our offering and had the ceremony with little attention paid to us or the baby. I wanted to shout at the priest that this was a special child, a child sent by the Lord, but I kept my peace, knowing they would not listen to a young woman like me. I am a poor, young, female stranger. A person of no regard to them. We were touched later on when two elders met us as we were leaving, rejoicing in the child and the Lord's blessing. Noone really took any notice of us or them, thankfully. The place is crowded with visitors, money changers and stalls for buying offerings. We really can't draw attention to ourselves or the baby, so we slipped out quietly, both of us with smiles and tears of joy. It's hard to be the servant of the Lord and not be able to proclaim it to everyone we see. But his safety is of most importance! I often wish he was just a normal baby, so that I can keep him to myself to love and enjoy. Hoe can this sweet, totally dependent, beautiful boy, be the savoir of the world? Pray for me, please, Auntie, for this burden gets too hard sometimes.

love, 

Mary