Mr. & Mrs.
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Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
Luke 2:4-5
We’ve been talking about this since the beginning of these 25 Days with Mary, but at the risk of being redundant, this engagement-betrothal-was as legally binding then as marriage is today. They two, Joseph and Mary, were Mr. and Mrs. now on their way to Bethlehem, the little city of David’s birth, to be counted in the census.
Through the years many have tried to discredit any and every point of Mary’s virgin birth, but God, His Word is truth; His plan stood then and stands now.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Micah 5:2
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
Little Things in Life
Joseph was heading to Bethlehem and Mary was going with him. We don’t know if she had to out of legal obligation (if so, it would show the two them were indeed one family, but many bible and history scholars say she didn’t have to be there), or she decided to willingly for any number of reasons. I read one commentary suggesting Joseph may have used this opportunity to remove Mary from her normal surroundings in an otherwise-seemingly- scandalous pregnancy. Either way, they both made the trip together.
We lived in north Florida in the beginning of our marriage way back in the late 80’s to mid 90’s. It was the little things in life that got us there, and consequently, now that I think about it, back to Virginia. In the past 8 years we visited and talked about, dreamt about, moving far south and near the ocean: 1000 miles from where home had been most of our lives together. *Our* plan was a 15 year plan. God’s plan was different.
Friends, it was the little things in life that God used to do very big things. I won’t tell the whole story now, but the nutshell version starts with a plea from my Dad to help him as he was getting older and needed us. Since 160 plus miles separated us, we knew this would require a more urgent move than we were prepared for -in, any, way. But we prayed. After nearly 16 years, two babies, our two Mom’s lives and passings, and a whole lot of life in those years in our beautiful home, we made the decision to get things ready to sell and move. That was the middle of April 2018, and we pulled out of our Virginia driveway for the last time on July 23, 2018 head for as far south we could go without hitting the sea. We were here to take care of my dad, and that is exactly what the Lord wanted us to do, and He did it in a way we’d never recognize or design in and of ourselves. My husband is amazing in so many ways-oh, the details here stir my heart and mind in a Dorthy and Toto way. Keeping it short, we love this place and are thankful every day for the blessing of living in the sunshine by the ocean. Not only did we not have to leave our oldest as he decided to move with us last minute (I mean, everything about this move was last minute to us), we gained a daughter in law here, too! All the little things were working for our good and for very big things in our lives we couldn’t see, yet. And you know what? My dad got married and moved away about 3 weeks ago.
He who began a good work
A census that put marching orders to all of Palestine? Go and be counted. And they all did. It didn’t cause chaos or upheaval in the land, and thought it was costly in time and money, in so many ways it was just part of life-a little thing. That little thing was a move toward very big things. And, it was God’s sovereignty in the young couple’s lives. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because that was God’s plan for them. We came here to take care of Dad, because that was God’s plan for us, and what a blessing it has been in ways I could go on and on with here.
Of course, we recognize the big stuff in our lives, the mountain tops and trenches-every big circumstance high and low, but ordinarily days are in the orchestration of God’s complete, divine, sovereign plans, too.
This has been a year like no other, to understate things. But remember, whatever seems like any other ordinary little thing to your life right now, really is another part of God’s plan for you.
