"Hurry, now," Josh scolded.  "You two go see what it is that the soldiers
and all the fuss is about.  I'll clean up here before I hide myself - just
in case they've found out about me."
 
Joseph and Mary exchanged a knowing look as they went out the door.
 
"It'll take me days and days to find all of my tools after Josh is done
putting them away," Joseph grumped.
 
"I know," Mary smiled.  "Imagine how I feel when I go to fix our supper and
can't find any of my kitchen utensils.  It's lucky for us that I know most
of Josh's hidey holes."
 
At that moment, the Child within her stirred.  She almost lost her footing
on the cobblestone street as a knowing pain surged through her body.
 
"Oh, my husband," she sighed as Joseph held her and kept her from falling.
"My time is close.  So very close."
 
"No, my love," she responded to his frantic look.  "Our Baby won't be born
here in Nazareth.  We must make a long and difficult journey first."
 
"How do you know this thing?" the carpenter asked in a worried voice.
 
"I'm not really sure," she replied.  "I only know that all that has been
foretold must come to pass before our Baby is born.
 
Joseph almost understood the meaning of her words when they reached the
square and heard what the soldiers had to say.
 
"A new tax!" he brustled.  "Not only that, we must return to Bethlehem, the
city of my fathers, to register for it.  How can you possibly make such a
journey in your condition?"
 
"Don't worry about such things, I'll be fine.  We must fulfill all the
things that have been written about the birth of our Child.  God is within
me.  How can we possibly argue with His desire to walk among us, to
experience what it is to be human?  It's the greatest gift that He can give
to us.  How can we refuse it?"
 
"But, but, what does this all mean?" Joseph sputtered.  His mind was racing
in complete confusion.  "What shall we do with Josh?  The Palace Guards will
surely find him while we are gone.  What will happen to him then?"
 
Mary, feeling the Child within her stir again, tried very hard not to laugh
and further confound her husband.
 
"Oh, dear Joseph, don't you see?  We'll take Josh with us.  I think that
you'll find that he has a major part to play in that which is about to
happen.  There's much more at work here than either of us can now
understand."
 
To be continued...
 
Joy to the World!
[Posted in FML issue 1774]