An Imagining of Mary’s sister, referenced in John 19:25
Mary and Joseph must be in Bethlehem by now. She could have the baby any day now.
It aches that they’ve left, that Mary won’t be here to have the babe. It meant so much to me to have all my family around when I had my firstborn and Mary was such a help to me, more even than our mother. I always thought I’d be returning the favor when her time came. When our parents announced her engagement to Joseph, I envisioned happy times of us raising our children together.
But nothing with Mary has gone as we might have expected.
Truth be told, I’ve often felt a little jealous of my baby sister – the apple of Abba’s eye and everyone really. “Such a sweet, good girl!” they always said about her. You can imagine the shock waves that went through our town when she came back from visiting Elizabeth pregnant. It’s uncanny how quickly admiration can flip to judgment.
So I understand why Mary wonders if it isn’t better to be away from all this when the child is born.
I wish I could say I understand about the angel, but I do believe what Mary told me. It just doesn’t make sense to me that the Mighty One would send us the Messiah this way. I guess I have no head for these things.
But I love Mary and I’m going to stand by her no matter what all this means.
In the meantime, I’m watching the road for some word from Bethlehem. As hard as this pregnancy has been for Mary – and Joseph – it’ll all be better once the child is actually here. There’s just nothing like the power of a baby to make everything all right again. It’s a sign of hope that the world can have a fresh start, and all kinds of things seem possible.
Be safe, Mary. Be strong. Come home soon.
For updates on my book, or more information about me, continue to check back to this blog! I will also be frequently updating my Facebook Author page, as well my twitter account, @AuthorMcNabb, and my LinkedIn account, Katie McNabb.
2 Responses to The Road to Bethlehem – Part 3