MATTIE'S CHRISTIAN PAGES

Isa 9:6-7; Luke 2:1-20 Mary was weary as she swayed side to side with the rhythm of the donkey's hoofs. She had begun to slump more and more as she rode along. The pace was slow and made her sleepy and she nodded in the saddle. The shadows had grown long from the sun dipping lower and lower in the sky, which was ablaze with color. The little hoofs make a chinking noise as they scraped along the road.

She had been riding on that little beast for two days and it became harder and harder to force herself to stay on his back. The dust swirled around her as the wind playfully touched her hair. Birds sang in the brush as they passed by, sweet as any symphony. Soon they would be at their destination and she would be able to rest, for which she was so grateful.

The lamps began to come on and shine brightly in the growing dust in the distance as they slowly drew nearer. She leaned more and more over in the saddle. Her husband had worried about her having to come on this trip. He had wished that she had stayed home with his parents as he would not tarry on this trip, but she had insisted upon accompanying him even against his wishes.

She was in the last stages of her confinement and he would have felt more at ease if she had the other women from her hometown around her when her time came to deliver her child. It was too late now to worry about all of this. He only prayed that she and the child would be well and God would give her an easy delivery and a speedy one at that! He would settle her into a cozy room and try to find someone to help her when her hour came. He felt sure he would be able to make her comfortable.

As they approached the town, he could see that it was running over with all those who had arrived before him. It might not be easy to find her a place to rest after all. He stopped at one place after another and was told that there was no room to be had. He began to worry a little, but he still had a lot of places to try. Over and over, however, he received the same reply, "No rooms available!"

Now he began to really worry as his wife was beginning to show signs of real distress. He knew that he had to find a place for her soon! Finally, a man told him that there might be room for them in the stable below the last inn. He hurried to see if he could make his wife comfortable there and whether or not it was indeed available! Sure enough, the man felt sorry for his wife and said that they could use the stable "if they were so a-mind."

It was clean and dry and she had to lay down as her pains were now coming in earnest. They had found it just in time! There was no time to find anyone to help her. He would have to do everything himself! He hurriedly made her a bed on the new, clean straw and put some of the straw in the cow's feed crib he planned to use as a baby bed.

Next, he got the little things from the small donkey that she had so lovingly sewed for her first-born child. He retrieved the little gowns with the beautiful embroidery around the neck and the soft blankets in which she planned to wrap the child to keep him warm and dry. He took out the lovely little hat to keep his ears and head warm that tied under his tiny chin, as well as the soft leather shoes and exquisite socks for his very small feet.

The owner of the inn brought him warm water, ample towels and clean white rags with which to clean the mother and child as soon as it was delivered. He had done all that he knew to get ready for this new experience. He only hoped that it was enough! "Help me," he quietly prayed! He only had his faith in God to see him through this most eventful night!

Still, he was ready when the hard pains began to wrack his wife's small frame. Soon the baby boy was in his hands and he had cleaned him and placed him in the crib. He had cried softly when he had spanked him sharply to clear his tiny lungs. Now he could finish cleaning his wife and make her as comfortable as he could in this small place. It was not so bad! The animals watched him as if they knew what was happening in that small cave below the inn.

Suddenly, a great light, bright as the sun lit up the cave and its surroundings. What was going on? What was happening? Suddenly, men began to push their way inside the little cave. Who were these men? Why had they come? What did they want here in the cave? All these questions rushed through the young father's mind as he waited for them to explain. He hoped that they would not awaken the sleeping child. What if he started to cry? Should he ask them to leave first? Just why were they here?

In a hushed voice one began to speak. He told how he had been watching his sheep in the meadow when he had seen an angel and heard him say, "a Savior had been born this very night!" He then saw other angels who then joined the first one in a song of praise to God on High. He told how the angel had said the sign of the truth of this statement was a baby lying in a manger in a stable and they had come to see Him of which the angels sang! Suddenly they all knelt down and worshiped at the side of that tiny crib. The young man was shocked to say the least! Mary, his mother, too was amazed and hid all these things in her heart to tell her son when he grew up.