Sheltered

Finally, a place to rest.

Mary and Joseph, having found no room for them in Bethlehem, settle into a stable for the night. It's not a great option. It's not even a good option, but it was shelter and would do.

I have to wonder if they complained at first. I'm pretty sure I would, but then again, I might be grateful to have found anything at all. Nothing is very comfortable when you are nine months pregnant, so I think everyone could give Mary a little space to complain. She probably didn't.

Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

–Luke 2:19

Even as lowly as their lodgings were, don't you wonder what Mary was thinking? So often, I have found that most of figuring out God's plan is following along, reflecting on things as they happen, and looking back when it's all accomplished. There is a lot of peace in that approach because even when things seem to be going wrong, we know that it isn't necessarily so.

This shelter was clearly not typical, so I think Mary may have had a clue that there was something else happening here.

This was all a part of the plan. The King of the World didn't arrive in a castle or a mansion. He arrived in a stable. No guards, no court, no royalty surrounding Him. Nothing blocking anyone from access to Him. No one was too lowly to approach. No one was so insignificant that they aren't worth Jesus' company and love.

We can go to the stable, it doesn't matter who we are, how much we earn, what we do, or what we have done. It just matters that we go.

Go.