Luke 2:19 (NIV)
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

It was the end of a long night, at the end of a long day, at the end of a long journey.  How could she ever have imagined on that day when the angel first appeared to her that she would end up here in a stable in Bethlehem?  And yet, somehow, that didn’t even seem like the strangest part of the story!

She had not been happy when Joseph told her that they would have to travel to Bethlehem.  After all, she knew that her baby would be coming soon, very soon.  And her mother was in Nazareth, and her midwife, and her home.  Who would they know in Bethlehem?  No one!  And besides that, it was a long way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, ninety long miles.  She had felt every one of those ninety miles.  When her feet grew too tired to walk any more, she rode on the back of the donkey, and when she couldn’t bear to sit another minute, she got off and walked.  And bother Joseph, anyway, with his cheerful chatter!

When they finally arrived in Bethlehem, the city was crowded with other weary travelers.  Joseph tried his best to find a comfortable place for them to stay, but there was not a room to be found anywhere.  It soon became clear that she was going to give birth that very night.  And, at last, the very best that Joseph could do was the out-of-the-way semi-privacy of the stable.  At least they only had to share the space with a few animals!  And Joseph made a bed for her on some clean hay and held her hand when the pain grew intense.  And then there was the cry of her baby boy!  They held him close as they counted his fingers and toes and wrapped him up in a blanket.  After he nursed, the baby’s eyes closed, and Joseph soon joined him in sleep, exhausted by it all.

And just as she was drifting off to sleep herself, a group of shepherds came into the stable, telling an incredible story of their own!  They were out in the field watching over their sheep that night when suddenly an angel appeared to them.  The angel had told them that in the town of Bethlehem they would find a baby lying in a manger who was to be the Savior.  And then a whole choir of angels appeared and sang, “Peace on earth, good will to all people!”  And so they came looking for this child.  They stayed a little while, and then they left, telling everyone that they saw what the angel had said to them.

It took a while after they left for things to quiet down again.  Joseph was once again snoring softly on the hay-bed.  And now she held her baby close, just looking at him, pondering.  What a beautiful child he was, surely the most beautiful baby in the world!  Of course, every mother must think that about her baby.  And what a strange beginning to his life!  She would have such a story to tell when she got back home!  But as she held him, feeling his weight in her arms, listening to him breathe, looking at his face so peaceful in sleep, she remembered the words that the angel had spoken to the shepherds:  “For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord… Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward all.”