The Night Before...They Knew Not What!

“Mary’am!”Yosef called, peering around the corner of the door. “Do you have a free moment? It is such a lovely evening. I was wondering if you could step outside to enjoy it with me.”

“Yes, my lord. After I dry the dishes and put them back on the shelf, I will be at your side.”

Soon we were standing on the doorstep with Yosef’s arm around my waist and my head resting on his shoulder. It gives me such a secure feeling to be in his arms!

We listened to the lively sounds of a village finishing off its day.

“Anna, there is one last hen crouched under that bush over there. Fetch her in for the night, will you? Dovid, please help her.”

“Rebecca! This milk has a fly in it! You’ve got to be more careful!” Someone that could only be Rebecca’s mother scolded.

“Tobias! Stop pulling that dog’s ears. He might bite you! Don’t come crying to me! I warned you!”

“Get that scamp out of the house! You know that I don’t allow goats in here! Look she has knocked over a jug and the water has spilled. What a mess! What were you thinking to let her in here?”

“But I like her!” someone whined in a shrill, child’s voice.

“Nonsense! Out, Hexie, out! We will need to go to the pottery shop for another—”

The door shut and Yosef and I shared a small grin.

After Rebecca, her mother, Tobias and a few others trouped into their respective houses, the evening seemed even lovelier. Calmer for sure, and so sweet and fresh smelling. We had received a shower earlier in the evening.

I glanced idly at the chicken tracks patterning our path with their unique designs. The rainy season is almost over and everything is luxuriously green and gorgeous. You should just see the colorful flowers spilling over the hillsides and into the valleys. So many narcissuses, poppies and other nameless varieties blossom by the millions, and their fragrance lingers along the streets

We listened to one last mother call her son in for the night, and watched as his shadowy form meandered between the houses with a small, kelev barking at his heels. Then all was still. After awhile Yosef pointed out an unusually bright star in the heavens, and we gazed at it together.

“Doesn’t it remind you of the ‘star’ the shepherds saw which turned out…not to be a star at all…but an angel?”

I nodded silently. Will this star mean anything significant? A nippy little breeze came up which started me to shivering so I snuggled a little closer to my man.

“I wonder how those shepherds are doing.” I mused. “It seems like they could never be the same after such an exciting night.”
“Seems like I will never be the same, either,” Yosef mused.

I nodded soberly, and then stiffened at the sound of a little cry from within the house. It did not come again so I continued to watch the brilliantly studded sky.

I noticed that Yosef’s    I saw emotion working on his face before he responded. “What is my role? How am I to raise Him? He is El’ Elohim’s Son! Not mine! I feel so useless!”

“Oh, but Yosef, you are His Abba; his earthly father. He will need you just as much as He needs me.”

Yosef’s strong, broad shoulders sagged. “But how shall I teach—instruct- the Son of God? He has so much power! He created the universe!” Yosef shook his head worriedly and my heart went out to him.

“Yosef, just love us…care for us, and the rest will somehow fall into place.”

Yosef showed a glimmer of a smile, and I think, I hope, his mood lightened. The star continued blazing brightly in the darkened sky, but we were weary from a long day of work so retired for the night.