In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Luke 2:1-5
If you’ve ever made a trip to the other side of a state, a country, or the world, you know that a long journey can be exhausting. It can be full of highs and lows. And no matter how much you mentally prepare yourself, it usually ends in a tired and cranky state. Or if you’re me the word would be crabby – or as my parents affectionately call me “Crabby Abbey.”
On our flight from Newark Liberty to Tel Aviv was long – 10 hours 20 minutes long. However, our flight home from Tel Aviv to Newark Liberty was even longer at 12 hours and 15 minutes. And neither was an easy journey.
As I struggled to sleep or get comfortable in my seat, I couldn’t help but wonder what Mary and Joseph’s journey was like going from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Today in a car, the 90 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem is under approximately 2.5 hours. Or if you wanted to walk along the major roads, you could do so in 33 hours without stopping.
But for Mary and Joseph the journey was so much more difficult.
Mary was pregnant, the terrain was difficult to maneuver and it was a long and laborious journey. It would have taken Mary and Joseph 5 or more days to get to Bethlehem. Their feet would be tired from the rough terrain. Their legs would have ached from the up and down climbs. Muscles would ache and stomachs would growl. There was no hotel or resort or Airbnb to stay in. There wasn’t a nice warm shower and blanket at the end of each day.
Suddenly my seat wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had been previously. I didn’t mind the airplane food. Getting up three times for the pregnant woman next to me to use the restroom no longer bothered me.
In fact the Israeli woman next to me probably understood what the journey would have been like for Mary more than I do. She was experiencing a long journey while pregnant – the uncomfortable and exhausting trek.
Joseph and Mary didn’t have any idea what their trip to Bethlehem would bring them. They wouldn’t have been prepared for Mary to go into labor. They weren’t prepared to stay among the animals.
In a way I could relate. I didn’t know how my trip to Israel would change me. I wasn’t prepared to feel such a wide range of emotions. I wasn’t prepared to see the scriptures differently.
Sometimes our spiritual journey is like this.
We don’t exactly know what we are in for. We aren’t prepared. The journey can be long and exhausting and sometimes uncomfortable. But at the end is something amazingly beautiful.
For Mary and Joseph, it was being the first to welcome our Savior into this world. To be humbled by His birth.
For us, it is eternal life in heaven. Eternity with our Father.
What are times in your spiritual journey in which you felt like Mary and Joseph? Journeying without an idea as to what lies ahead?
Father, as we continue in the journey that is our faith we ask that you guide us and lead us. When the road ahead and long and difficult and we feel like giving up, remind us of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Remind us that what You have in store for us at the end of our journey is amazingly beautiful. Help us to have strength and endurance to press on. Amen.
Abbey Jo
Adventures with Abbey Jo 
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