Stable living was not the couple’s first choice. We know Joseph sought other lodging. There was none. Except the place God had planned all along. I believe the God who knows everything was not surprised when the only place available was a stable. In fact, it was the perfect place. It was where shepherds would feel free to come and find the baby resting in a manger.

When I think of what my place in the Christmas story might be I always see myself as a shepherd. Ordinary. A little on the raw side. So, maybe I don’t smell as bad…but I can be a stinker from time to time.

I never want to get over the miracle of Christmas and the way God revealed it to regular people.

God appeared first as a baby to an ordinary man and woman. He trusted one to carry and then give birth to His Son and the other to provide for and protect them both. Then He sent an angelic host with the birth announcement, and ushered some guys used to living on the sidelines to the stable to meet their Messiah. A stable full of Life – a life that would be given for them…and me.

These ordinary guys didn’t stand around trying to write off the angelic announcement as a UFO. They recognized heaven’s messengers and accepted the invitation to meet Him. I think they hurried. I’d like to think I would too. I picture myself running to see the One the angels said had come.

Oh I hope I would.

There they found a family living among animals under God’s great night light. And these underdogs of Jewish society got to see Him first. Then these men, saw what many others missed and did what most others refused. They recognized God in the flesh and they worshipped him. What did they see in the face of the baby? Did they recognize salvation’s Son?

In all the instability of life I see this young family as the truest picture we can have today of stable living. The kind where Jesus is adored, accepted, and worshipped no matter how uncomfortable, scary, or painful life is. Where peace rules and chaos puts up a fight but must eventually flee. Where the lost are found and the dead find life. Where comfort is given and condemnation removed. In this season when the hectic often trumps the holy, I want to continue wondering…what was it like in the stable with the Divine?

I don’t want all the answers. Wonder often leads to wonder or in other words when I wonder I usually end up worshipping. And in that transition I experience a tiny bit of what it must have been like for Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds…a little bit of the truest stable living there is.

Mary & Joseph. Two people who had angelic visits and said yes to the messengers. Then, she bore Him and they lived with Him;  the Message – Jesus the Christ – the Good News.

As much as I’m in amazement at the scene in the stable…it’s the trip to Bethlehem that’s on my mind today.

Pre-black top and cement…how does one find a road in the desert? Doesn’t shifting sand cover up the camel tracks from caravans? Or were there landmarks that led them from turn to turn? This might work for me since I’m a bit directionally challenged. North and South mean little but turn left by the pile of stones near the well of whatever might get me there.

Did the couple talk about their dreams? The baby? The census? Did they wonder as they wandered about all they might face in the coming days? Did Mary wish for her mother’s presence as she knew the date of Jesus birth was so near? Did Joseph worry about providing for Mary and the baby when they reached Bethlehem? What sounds did they hear? Sights did they see? Did they travel alone or alone in the company of a caravan? Did the wind howl and the sun scorch? Did Mary ponder all she knew and wonder about all she didn’t? How does a first time mother raise the Son of God? Was the trip good for their marriage? Was the time away from the gossip a relief even if the days were long, dry, and hot? Then later, after another angelic visit, they were once again on the road this time headed for Egypt – running for the life of Jesus. These trips were only the beginning of life on the road for Jesus.

During Jesus time on earth, He walked all over with His disciples, walked to Calvary and out of the tomb, joined two followers on the road to Emmaus and later met Paul on the road to Damascus.

While none of my questions about Mary and Joseph can be answered, my personal ponderings keep me focused on the One who road in her womb. Immanuel. The true King of the road.