MY BOARDSERVER
 Subject: Mary and Joseph's 90 mile trek
 
Author: Serra International
Date:   12/19/2016 1:18 am 
As Advent is a time of prayerful anticipation of the arrival of the baby Jesus, we would do well to consider how modern expectant parents get ready for their babies:
Prepare a nursery or at least a crib
Begin to collect necessary items for the baby, such as clothes, wipes, blankets, and toys, often by way of a lavish baby shower
Obtain special items of comfort for the mother, such as pillows, wraps and balms
Get environmental comfort appliances such as humidifiers, heaters and white noise generators
Prepare equipment to sterilize bottles and pacifiers
Pack a bag for the trip to the hospital, if giving birth there
Arrange for transportation there and back, including infant car seat
Arrange for obstetrician, midwife and other delivery room support
Arrange for postpartum care so the new mother can rest and recover




Two possible routes Mary and Joseph could have taken from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Biblecartoons.co.uk
Following the chronology of the Gospel, by now a nine-months pregnant Mary and Joseph would have already started out on their 90-mile trek to Bethlehem. During this grueling journey, they would have faced rocky up- and downhill terrain, desert, rain, and freezing temperatures at night.

Instead of carrying comforting items for mother and child, they would have been heavily burdened with enough food and water for the journey (plus more for their donkey). Instead of resting up for childbirth, in addition to making this hard journey -- on foot for Joseph -- both of them would have had to remain vigilant for wild animals and bandits along the way, especially after dark.

To top it all off, they had no arrangements for a room or familial support when they arrived just as Mary went into labor.

This is a far cry from the comforts of today, or even the relative comfort afforded Mary's contemporaries, like her cousin Elizabeth when John the Baptist was born.

In this last week or so of Advent, be sure to pause to wonder at the heroic journey undertaken by Mary and Joseph at a time when many late-stage pregnant women today might think twice about taking a walk around the block. Surely it was a time when the new couple bonded, and together realized they were made of tougher stuff than they could ever have imagined -- a toughness that would be put to the test over the next three decades of their new baby's life.
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 Mary and Joseph's 90 mile trek    
Serra International 12/19/2016 1:18 am 
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