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Show Family Weekly December 25, AT one time in the past and only yesterday in the reckoning of God a devoted husband came to his wife and told her that, according to the decree of the tyrant who occupied their coun- r 1960 little fire. It meant, perhaps, that some snow would fall on the tops of the mountains. The Valleys wquia De Dieaic and the roads muddy, and all the streams would be bounding from the long sea sonal rains. . try, they must both go to the city of the origin of their families to. be registered in a world-wid- e cen- Auuy laugiiea as ner nusDana wrapped her m sus. The young wife, who was hardly past the age long yards of wool and bundled her in one of the of 14, heard this with dismay, She was about to blankets. Her shining hair; was hidden; her serene have a child, she who. was hardly more than a and lovely face peered between folds of cloth, the child herself-- Moreover, it was winter, stark and face of a confident child. Her eyes glowed with blossomless and bleak, the wintry hills blasted and blue sweetness nn fior uiwwuuui tmcKan4 U tuuncu u. iic InnlmJ xy uic lifeless, the ground hard and dry. sky with a countryman's shrewd conjecture'. The Her husband was a poor carpenter; their only very rounaea lops or the long hills were just bemeans of transportation was a small ass. There ginning to be haloed with sharp gold. At least, it would be no warm vehicle for her in the sleety' would be a fair day, if chilly. He took up his rain and the harsh wind, no comfort, no money so sturdy staff, grasped the rope-brid- le of the ass, that she could stop occasionally in a comfortable and the carpenter and his girl-wi- fe started on , inn to rest and gather her strength and sit by the ' their long journey. . fire andeat good food. It would be a difficult jourIt was rough and lurchy going, and very slow. ney of pain and misery and cold and hardship and anxiety. The young To encourage, them both, Mary would sing the ancient songs, of their fathers , girl thought quietly of the child in her body, ' who was almost at term. diiu dosepn wouia sing also, on a deeper and more sober note. "Praise the Lord, "I know," her husband told her, "but there is do. can we We an are nothing 0 Jerusalemr they sang. "Praise your God, 0 Sion! For He has strengthened occupied and oppressed country, and we have to obey. Let us, then, dear wife, the bars of your gates, He has blessed your chUdren within you!" dress as warmly as we can and take as much food as we can To Joseph, that song of David had a special carry and trust meaning. Mary's face was lifted in God. Our donkey is strong, if small, andI am here to to the gold and green sky of the morning. She help you, and we must appeared exalted and remote, remember Him Who gave you this child. We can do all as if hearing voices Joseph could not hear. Joseph, with sudden things in Him Who courage, sang: strengthens us." Happy he whose help is the God of, Jacob, whose hope is. in the Lord, his He counted the few coins in his purse and sighed. Then he God! The Lord sets captives free, the Lord prayed, not for gives sight to the blind. The Lord himself but for his wife, the young girl almost on the eve of her How raises delivery. up those that were bowed down The Lord shall, reign forever; your would she be able to endure that terrible journey over mountains, over creakGod, O Sion, through all generations. Alleluia!" ing bridges, over empty, crumbling stretches of land filled only with loneliness, "May my mouth speak the praise of the Lord, and may all flesh bless his Holy where there was no fruit on the trees and where there was only an occasional name forever and ever!" Mary cried out in her returning song, as if she sang well in the wilderness? not only of this moment but for all eternitv. The little towns and villages they would pass on the way would, themselves, The man and the ass with its mysterious burden trudged along, stumbling ' be so swollen with people on the same journey that it would be impossible to sometimes, avoiding boulders that had fallen from the hills to the muddy path. find shelter, especially for a young couple so poor. It was so lonely, so abandoned, in this dreary winter land. If Innkeepers notoriously only, Joseph r raised their prices on these occasions. ilna thought, n( , this were the snrincr w x o uiv vvaiAbc;; AliC UUiU 15 j The anxious husband looked at the two or three blankets which his girl-wi- fe , just in all His ways and holy in all His works!" sang Mary. had woven herself, and he sighed again. The land was full of caves; if they They spent their first night, as Joseph had feared,' in some far, abandoned could find one unoccupied by wild beasts or cattle or other poor like cave. The villages were bustling with travelers on the same people journey, and from themselves, there they would have to spend the nights of the long journey, the sound of revelry Joseph could guess that wine flowed and that prices were huddled and bone-wea- ry and hungry, trying to keep a little fire alive in the high. He built a fire, and Mary warmed the slabs of cold meat they had wind and rain. Drought and put the cold bread on, hot stones. Her serenity and confidence The young girl, Mary, was up long before dawn, though her slight body was were as strong as ever, though her child-fac- e was pale and drawn. Joseph; child. with heavy Joseph, her husband, found the poqr breakfast waiting for as he lay on his thin blanket, which he had spread over the pebbly floor of the him. He stood with his wife and prayed in the tiny yellow candlelight for the . cave, to his he but could not help thinking: "There is no room God, prayed cold sun was not up yet and he asked the protection of the God of his fathers for us, anywhere. We are sheltered as the animals are sheltered." He began for his wife. .Then he and Mary ate their bread and cheese. and drank a little to have real anxiety about Bethlehem7 where they must finally arrive to be of their wine, the grapes of which he had nurtured himself on the hot vines the in census. Would there be room for Mary there, and himself? registered of summer. Hf saw. with thankfulness, that, fhe Every inn would be full; He groaned before he wind had dropped' and that there was no rainBut BY slept. Mary was already asleep, a childlike shape that meant it was very cold outside, beyond this Author of "Dear and Glorious Physician" and "The Listener" . in the faint glow of the fire. Him ' .. , . TAYLOR CAUJWELL ILIUSTRATION IY CARl MUELLER (Continued on page 15) Travel with Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and share their suffering and joy as the Son of God is horn in a. stable in this inspired retelling of the. Christmas Story . Family Weekly, December 25, 1960 |