Joseph
I was looking forward to the journey...
Well, I was and I wasn’t.
It would be good to get away and experience an adventure.
I was looking for a chance to see new places and meet people.
To visit King David’s city would be a special thing.
But yet – I was worried about Mary, her vulnerability and situation,
Her ability to cope with a long and arduous journey.
I had to trust that God would look after us.
Mary
I wasn’t looking forward to the journey...
Well, I was and I wasn’t.
I was nearly at the end of my pregnancy and the baby was getting heavier.
I was scared to be away from home when the time came.
I didn’t know whether I would ever see my mother and father again.
But yet – we were going to Joseph’s hometown,
The birthplace and capital of the great King David.
And if what the angel had told me was true –
Why, the baby would be the greatest King since David.
What harm could come to me or the baby if God was looking after us?
Joseph
I was looking forward to the birth.
Well, I was and I wasn’t.
The long period of waiting would be over.
We would see what our new baby looks like.
The miracle of witnessing new life would be part of my experience.
But yet – I did not want to see Mary go through the pain of labour.
And I was worried about whether we would find somewhere suitable for the birth.
I had to trust that God would look after us.
Mary
I wasn’t looking forward to the birth.
Well, I was and I wasn’t.
We couldn’t find anywhere to stay and I knew the pains were starting.
What if there was no-where suitable to give birth to God’s son?
How would I manage without mid-wife or the female members of my family?
But yet – Joseph was being brave and attentive
and I felt a sort of peace.
What harm could come to me or the baby if God was looking after us?
Joseph
I was looking forward to becoming a father.
Well, I was and I wasn’t.
Mary and I would be parents together.
We would get to know our shared baby
and begin a new life as a family together.
But yet – the baby was not really mine
And I was concerned for what the child and adult will become.
I had to trust that God would look after us.
Mary
I wasn’t looking forward to learning to be a mother in a strange place.
Well, I was and I wasn’t.
We had ended up turning a place for animals into a place for labour and birth
And the only thing to put the baby in was a feeding trough.
We had taken the baby clothes with us but I hadn’t got my mother’s wisdom or support.
But yet – everything was transformed by people’s kindness
And the unexpected visitors, and the strange gifts, and the amazing signs in the sky.
No harm came to us and God kept us in the palms of his hands.