We awoke as the sun peeked over the horizon, painting the sky a pale yellow. I arose and stretched in the freshness of the morning air. Leaves on cedar trees above us stirred, wafting their clean, fresh scent around us.
As I opened the basket I had woven in Bethlehem, the small caravan that stopped near us began to stir. Faint noises reached us...people discussing the day, a child"s laughter, donkeys braying...as they prepared for the day"s travel.
Yellow and orange of the sky turned to a light pink. Colors bounced off the slate grey rocks that reached upward into a cloudless expanse. Gnarled shapes of olive trees in the grove below were little more than dark blobs.
Jesus slept on, curled into a tiny, precious ball.
Though we could see no dwellings, somewhere over the hills a cock crowed. Our donkey stamped his feet lazily, then settled down as Joseph gave him food and water.
I looked into the basket to determine what our meal would be. I spread bread, cheese and figs onto a cloth I"d placed on a large rock. I then poured milk for each of us into small containers.
Joseph returned to my side as he looked around anxiously. “Where"s Jesus?”
My heart stopped as I looked around. No Jesus in sight.
“Jesus,” he called loudly.
“Look me, Father,” a happy little voice said from above us. We spun and stared upward. There was Jesus silhouetted against the sky. He sat on a large rock about fifteen feet above our heads, his tiny legs swinging out over the open expanse. The silvered slate of the hills was a background for the brilliance of the early blooming flowers and the kaleidoscopic colors of the morning sky.
“Stay very still, Jesus.” Joseph"s voice was unusually calm. “I"ll come get you, like I would a little lamb who is too far out on the edge of a rock.” Joseph began slowly moving up the path that led to this overhanging rock.
“Pwetty.” Jesus said. He held a red poppy in His tiny hand. A blue bird lit on His shoulder and Jesus giggled aloud. “He wikes me, Muver,” Jesus called, as He leaned out over the expanse. His voice held delight and wonder.
My panic was almost more than I could handle as I said to Jesus, “Father will get you in a moment. Just stay very still and watch the bird.”
He straightened and grinned at his Father as Joseph neared him.
I stared upward and held my breath. It seemed an eon before Joseph reached a long arm and drew Jesus to him.
Joseph held Him tightly, his eyes closed in thankfulness. Jesus wrapped His arms around Joseph"s neck, crushing the poppy against Joseph"s robe. Joseph walked slowly down the slope. I wasn"t sure if he was giving me time to get my nerves calmed or to get strength back into his own legs.
He placed Jesus in my shaky arms, then held both of us tightly. My tears of happiness flowed as Joseph thanked God for our son"s safety.
We sat on a rock and talked as we ate. Jesus got quite a bit of the sweet syrup from the figs all over His face.
When He grinned, His four front teeth shone brightly through the black syrup around His mouth.
As we ate, Joseph said, “I"m so sorry we can"t go home to Nazareth right now.” His voice was calm, but as I looked at him, I could tell he was only holding himself tightly to keep me from falling apart.
It seemed the only thing I had done since we awoke was cry and I felt tears again coming to my eyes. I swallowed them, though it didn"t stop the thoughts which cascaded through my mind.
I felt a lifetime had elapsed since I saw my mother, and I needed her desperately. I needed my Father to tell me everything was going to be all right. I needed Daniel who was now almost grown. And Leah. My little Leah was becoming a young woman. I hated missing that. Mother wrote that a couple of boys were already interested in my sister, though she was only eleven years old. I didn"t want her to grow up so rapidly.
I also needed Joseph"s mother"s wisdom to guide me.
And Sarah. How I missed her. She now had a little girl, mother wrote. They named her Elizabeth they said, to honor my Cousin who had waited so many years to have a child. I missed going to our well each morning. I missed the home Joseph built for us and the bed we slept in and the peacefulness of our former lives.
It took a moment, but I straightened and resolved inwardly I was now a woman, not a little girl. I should act like one. “Whatever we must do to save our child, we will do.” I wiped Jesus" face, then reached for Joseph"s hand and squeezed it. “My dear, I"m as homesick as you are for Nazareth and I know we can"t go home now, but God will lead us home as soon as possible.”
I packed our left-over food and began rolling up our pallets as Joseph watched Jesus. “We will get out of Herod"s reach, even though we must journey to Egypt,” I said emphatically.
“Thank you for making it easier,” he said, as he tickled Jesus on the bottom of his foot. Jesus giggled happily and Joseph smiled at Him.
“I"m not making it easier. Maybe we"ll be lucky enough to meet people as nice as Ruth and Matthew.”
Joseph stood, picked up the mats and retied everything to the back of the donkey as Jesus watched. Joseph said,
“Maybe we"ll even meet that nice, young couple again.”
I nodded my head. “I"d like that.”
I picked up Jesus as Joseph strode toward the leader of the caravan. We decided to join the caravan for a short distance.
As we walked, I thought of the journeys I"d made before and knew this was not like any of the others.
The trip to Elizabeth"s was one of pleasure amongst strangers who became friends. The experiences were enlightening. It could have been a perfect trip, but I was too concerned about my relationship with Joseph.
I enjoyed the return trip, because I was on my way home. I felt free and happy as I strode over the familiar roads, hills and valleys. Even the journey to Bethlehem to register for taxes had not been all bad. Joseph was with me. He cared for me. The trip was a blessing because it resulted in Jesus becoming a part of our family.
It also resulted in our getting to know Matthew and Ruth. I was terrified when we realized we must leave Bethlehem to protect Jesus. Now, we must move even farther from home. It was essential we leave our own country and become aliens in another land.
This trip...who could say what would happen? Could we evade Herod and get out of the country before discovery? I hoped and prayed the young couple we met earlier managed to escape. That was such a dear, sweet baby.
I railed silently at a ruler who was so wicked he would put tiny babies to death. This already ill, very evil man was still afraid someone would replace him. How sad.
Thinking of him, I wasn"t angry at Herod any more. He was a poor, pitiful creature who lived with hatred. He would meet God in the future and have to answer for his sins.
That was not my worry.
When Joseph talked with the leader of the caravan, he asked for directions over the Judean Mountains to Egypt.
The leader drew roads and pathways for us to follow on papyrus.
Before leaving the caravan, we purchased bread, cheese, dried fruit and extra goatskins so we would have enough food for a few days. As the sun rose higher, we walked with the small group, attempting to avoid any troops that might be on the main route. We offered thanks to God for leading us to the man who showed us the way.
At the oasis, we filled all the skins with water, then turned off the main caravan route toward Abdullan. Our safest destination, we felt, was the great sea.
As we looked across the plain we saw a solid line of hills we must cross, each higher than the other. In the clean morning air, every object...low bushes, as well as a few trees...was etched against a cloudless sky. As we neared these hills, we discovered stones of every size, from pebbles to boulders. The smaller ones got into our sandals and the larger ones obscured our sight from around turns in the meager path.
The sun climbed higher and I made sure Jesus had a cloak over His face so His tender skin wouldn"t burn.
Joseph led the donkey, with Jesus riding most of the time. He felt very grownup riding all by Himself, talking to the donkey who seemed to understand what Jesus was saying.
I walked beside them when possible. Often the trail was so narrow and stony, I fell behind. I watched to see that Jesus did not fall. Joseph barely stopped to drink water when I insisted.
We passed small, mean cottages with tiny gardens hacked from the stony ground. Sprigs of green dotted the slopes of the limestone hills. Many times, only scrub and thorn bushes grew. We walked up and down steep gorges and narrow defiles until we were weary beyond words.
By late afternoon, I was exhausted, Jesus had fallen asleep on the back of the donkey but Joseph made no motions that we should stop, so I followed. Our feet slogged through the rocks and dirt. Sweat poured and dampened our clothing.
Suddenly, something caught my eye. Joseph stumbled. I knew it was time to stop and feed my family. I walked rapidly past the donkey and touched Joseph on the arm. He was in such a daze, he didn"t even feel my touch.
I shook his arm and said, loudly. “Stop, Joseph!”
It was as though he was coming out of a deep sleep. “Huh? Mary? What"s wrong?” He stopped the donkey, who was stumbling along as though he were in a daze, as well.
“Nothing is wrong Joseph, except you are about to pass out from heat and exhaustion. You must stop. Jesus has been sleeping for a long time. I tied him in the saddle so he wouldn"t fall, but you must have rest.” I took his arm. “Come, sit down. Let me get you some water.”
I pulled the donkey into a shady rock overhang where we would be out of the cruel sun. Joseph sat on the side of a stone, then slid down, sitting in the sandy soil. I opened a skin of water and held it to Joseph"s mouth. As the coolness touched his parched lips, he looked at me as though he had just now recognized me.
Suddenly, he tried to stand. “Oh, Mary, what have I done? Is Jesus all right? Are you all right?”
I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Sit, Joseph. I"m going to get Jesus from the donkey and we"ll eat something.
Then, we"ll rest until it gets cooler.”
As we ate, we all began to revive. Joseph had been concentrating all his energy on moving us to safety as rapidly as possible. He had used all of himself to save his family. I resolved right then to be more alert and not let either of us get too exhausted again.
We drank as much water as we needed to replace the moisture lost in sweat, then ate bread, cheese and dried grapes. We finished our meal with a few precious drops of the wine Ruth gave us.
Joseph sat silently for a little while, then said. “Mary, we"ve passed caves on our trek up here. There might be one a little further on. If you don"t mind, I think I"ll just go around this hill and look. If I don"t find one very soon, I"ll be right back.”
“No, Joseph...” I stopped protesting and took a deep breath. How silly I was to protest. “Of course you should go and look. If you find one and I pray you do, we can rest in a cool place.”
He was back in only a few minutes. “I found one, Mary.” His voice was quiet, but there was excitement in his eyes. “I"ll carry Jesus and you can lead the donkey. It"s just a little farther up the hill.”
As we moved into the cave, Jesus awoke and we all looked around. It was quite dark. There was enough light, however, so we could see all the way to the back. The cave was made from huge boulders. It was almost as though the center rocks had been removed to provide a temporary home.
We heard a rustling and I was sure there were all kinds of creatures inhabiting this dark space. I wasn"t going to complain, however. At the moment we were out of the sun and that was the more important consideration.
The cave had a musty, mildewy odor. Pale, fan-like things grew from the rocks. I wasn"t sure I wanted to sleep inside this grotto. I hastily pulled our pallets from the back of the donkey and laid them on the pebbly ground.
Joseph stumbled, and I persuaded him to lie down and rest.
Jesus wasn"t ready to settle down since He had slept earlier, so I played with him for a few minutes. He ran around, examining each pebble. We tossed rocks back and forth for awhile. Then, He found a stone that glittered. He held it a moment clutched tightly in His fat little fists. He then hurled it so it hit the back of the cave. When the noise echoed, Jesus clapped his hands and laughed aloud. A few more rocks, a few more throws and he was again tired.
I watched silently as he lay down next to his Father, who was already asleep.
I rested near the door of the cave, but I couldn"t sleep. I wondered what Egypt would be like. Would the people be friendly? Would we find other Jews to live nearby? My thoughts turned to our ancestors who had fled to Egypt so many years before.
The brothers of Joseph were jealous because his Father loved him best. These older brothers sold him to an Egyptian. When famine struck, these same brothers journeyed to Egypt to buy grain. They then discovered their very lives were dependent upon the brother they had sold. Joseph forgave them and he was again united with his Father.
Later, the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and many of the Jews traveled to Egypt for safety. The prophet Jeremiah was among the people who migrated.
Startled, I sat up. “Wake up, Mary. I think it"s time we moved on.” Joseph was shaking me. I roused and looked up at him. “Jesus and I have already eaten,” he told me. “You should eat too. I"ve fed the donkey and he"s all packed. I left out food and water for you.”
“How sweet you are, Joseph.” I said, as Jesus noticed I was awake and ran to me. He leaned over and gave me a sloppy kiss. “Muver. Wake.” He ordered.
I sat up and Joseph handed me water. “What a sweet pair of men I have.” I gazed at Joseph and held Jesus on my lap as I ate. I placed the last bite of food in my mouth and we were about to leave when we heard a voice.
“Anybody in here?” The voice sounded friendly...not challenging in any way.
We froze in position. Joseph held the donkey"s mouth to keep it from making a noise. I placed my hand over Jesus" mouth so He wouldn"t cry out.
Thrust through the opening of the cave, was a log with fire on the end of it. Joseph and I cowered, as the light struck our faces and the man saw us.
“Ho, ho,” He said, and laughter seemed only a moment away when he spoke. “Come, let me look at you.”
We moved closer to the door. There stood the tallest man I had ever seen. He was at least three or four inches taller than Joseph. His arms were muscular and from the looks of his body where his robe touched, he was in good physical condition. He seemed to be about the same age as Joseph. His hair and beard were dark brown.
I couldn"t see his eyes, but his brows were bushy and his nose quite prominent. His mouth tilted in a huge smile as he shoved the cowl from his head and stuck out his hand to Joseph.
“My name is Abner.” He introduced himself. “I"m on my way to Egypt.” He shoved the lighted log into the rocky sand and doused the light. “I have goods on my donkeys to sell.”
“Oh.” They shook hands. “I"m Joseph, this is my wife Mary, and our son, Jesus. You startled us.”
“I"m sure I did. I"m good at that.” Abner said, his face splitting into a grin. “I don"t mean to frighten people by moving so quietly, but somehow I always do.”
He moved into the cave and looked around, though there was nothing to see except the limestone walls and our little family.
“We were just leaving,” Joseph informed Abner. “If you"d like, the cave is all yours. We have a long way to go.” And he started to lead the donkey around the man.
“It"s almost dark. You"ll not find another cave to spend the night in.” Abner protested. He carried himself with the assurance of a much older person.
“That may be, but we must move on. We have family expecting us.” Joseph said.
“In that case, I won"t hold you.” He moved out of the way as Joseph led the donkey past him. “I was hoping you might accompany me on the journey.” Barely stopping for breath, he asked. “Have you ever crossed a desert or mountains or sand dunes?”
Joseph halted the donkey, looked back and shook his head.
“Company makes a journey much more pleasant, don"t you think?” Abner"s voice was quite friendly.
I carried Jesus as we walked through the door of the cave.
When I emerged, I stopped. “My goodness!” The expression was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Jesus clamored to get down, but I held Him tightly. I saw a dozen or more donkeys tied together with one tether. Each was loaded with packs filled almost to overflowing.
“How do you manage to get all these animals fed twice a day by yourself?” Joseph asked, as astonished as I.
“Do you unload them each night?”
Abner chuckled. “No. I don"t unload them every night. I can"t. Of course if I find someone to help me on my journeys, I pay for their labors.” He looked at Joseph, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Would you care for the job?”
Joseph stood very still, suddenly unable to decide. “Come,” Abner"s voice was persuasive. “If you can wait until morning, I"d like you to join me in a meal. Then you can help with the animals.”
“We have eaten, but since it"s late and if it"s all right with Mary, we will wait.” Joseph turned to me and I nodded. I was grateful we were going to wait until morning. I was still exhausted.
“I"ll gladly help with your asses, sir.” Joseph offered. “It will be my pleasure.” And he turned our donkey around and led him back inside.
Jesus and I went back into the cave. I again removed the pallets from our donkey and laid them in a corner. As Abner and Joseph brought the rest of the animals into the cave, they unloaded, then fed them. They placed each of the packs on top of each other, leaving plenty of room for all of us to sleep.
Abner took one pack off, opened it and laid food out on a clean cloth placed on the ground.
“May I help you?” I offered.
“You sit,” he said, not ordering, but as though he wished to do the honors. “I can see you"re a tired little lady.
You can serve me tomorrow.” He opened containers that held tiny pieces of dried fish, olives; black and green.
There was also yogurt, curds, different kinds of cheeses and bread. One type of bread had a hole in it, like the bread I saw in Jerusalem. Vegetables or meat could be stuffed in it, then held in one"s hand. What a feast!
Then he opened a skin that held wine of such a delicate odor I was wondering how it would taste. He poured milk from a wineskin into a tiny silver goblet and handed it to me to let Jesus drink. Then he drew three larger goblets from a pack and placed them on the cloth.
“Come, we shall eat.”
“But...” Joseph began.
“I know you said you had eaten. But this food is different. Please do me the honor of joining me in the meal.”
We sat on the floor of the cave and Abner asked God"s blessings. I tasted everything. We ate and talked until it was completely dark outside. Jesus was put to bed and was sound asleep. I went to our corner of the cave and settled down, as Abner stood, looking out.
He turned to look at Joseph who stood near him. “Is that the boy Herod is looking for?”
I grabbed Jesus, waking him. I held Him so tight, he cried out. I released my hold on Him, then talked softly, patting and kissing him, to put Him at ease. The question the stranger asked still echoed in the cave. I felt dead with fright. What would he do?
Joseph looked at Abner, an angry, worried expression on his face. “What do you mean? Is Herod looking for a boy?”
“You know he is. That"s why you"re fleeing to Egypt.” Abner"s voice was in a conversational tone.
“What gave you that idea?” Joseph was working very hard to keep his voice calm.
“God led me to you.” The stranger said. “I"ve been looking for days. Three wise men with whom I trade, stopped at my home. They told me about the two of you and Jesus.”
He turned and looked directly at Joseph. “Herod has men all over Judea looking for you. If you will permit, I can show you a way that will keep them from finding you. It won"t be an easy task. We do have enough animals, food and water so we can travel longer each day than normal. We can ride when we tire, eat as we move along and rest when it becomes absolutely necessary.”
“But...” Joseph interrupted. “We didn"t know when the Wise Men visited just what we were going to do. How did you know we would head for Egypt?”
“The four of us talked almost all night.” Abner said. “We tried to decide where you might have gone. We heard Herod was sending soldiers to Nazareth and decided you would hear, as well.”
“So you thought our alternative would be Egypt.” Joseph stated dryly.
“Before we reached a decision, someone remembered a prophecy that stated the Savior would come out of Egypt. We reasoned you had to go there before Jesus could come out of that particular country.”
“I had forgotten the prophecy.” Joseph said. “Yes, you"re right, Abner. God is leading us. He sent an angel to warn us about Herod. He told us to go to Egypt.”
Abner looked at Jesus with awe, took a deep breath and said,
“There"s a group heading for Egypt. We shall catch up with them in the next day or two. In fact, they"re caring for three of my camels. If you"re in the middle of a group of people, there"s less likelihood you will be found.”
“Why would you do this thing for us?”
Abner"s voice was so quiet I could barely hear him. “I"ve waited all my life for the Savior to free our people.
Now that He is here, we must all protect Him.” He looked at Jesus with the fervor of a religious zealot. “I thank God I have a chance to help in this matter. But come, we must sleep for awhile and be on our way early in the morning.”
Joseph returned to the pallet, and I never knew when he or Abner slept. I felt I had just put my head on the ground when Joseph shook me awake. We packed the donkeys, eating as we worked. I picked up Jesus as we left the cave to begin our day"s journey.
It was still quite dark in the mountains. A tinge of light was seen in the sky...more a hint, than a reality. As the sun slowly rose, it played with the hills, making them look almost golden. These mountains were higher, and small rocks made it more difficult to walk. We watched the animals to make sure they made it around the narrow pathways without stumbling.
I"ve barely mentioned how Jesus was taking all this change. He was the finest baby imaginable. He never feared anything or anyone. Each happening was a happy experience for Him. It was just something new in His life. He acted as though everyone should love Him and take care of Him.
When He had the chance, He played. If He had to ride the donkey He did, with pleasure. When He wanted to walk, I held His hand and we struggled for awhile until He tired. I picked him up occasionally, just because I needed to feel His tiny, loving body next to mine.
He talked to me with words I could barely understand, but I loved each utterance. He called to Joseph, who walked with Him on his shoulders. Even Abner insisted he take care of Jesus while we led his donkeys. He amused Jesus by telling him stories about various animals. The only difference in the way Abner told stories...he made sounds that sounded like animals.
We stopped only when necessary. Near the end of the second day, we rounded a rock. There, preparing to rest for the night was the group of people Abner told us about. They welcomed us into their midst. Most, like us, were fleeing from the laws that strangled Jews tighter and tighter each day.
We all agreed, since Abner had more experience in leading people on a journey, he should be our leader. He made the rules and we followed. His rules were simple. We moved fast, made as much time as possible, and avoided Herod"s men.
Everyone agreed.
Small settlements were scarce and villages non-existent. We traveled over mountains, avoiding huts made with stone or any trace of humans. Our mouths watered when we saw chickens scratching around one or two huts as we ate dried bread.
We struggled through heat-seared noontime, watching that each of the party drank enough water to remain well.
We ate as we walked, until all were merely stumbling along. We were going to a safe place to protect our children. We complained little, until we entered the desert.
Coming from the mountain"s foothills, we spied the whiteness of the sand. None of the party except Abner had ever seen such whiteness. We didn"t know what to expect, but dread set in as we neared that expanse.
The desert was the worst enemy any of us could imagine...much worse than the mountains. The sun shimmered over the undulating sand, making it look like a white ocean with waves slowly moving into shore. We thirsted constantly, slogged our way through this enemy and prayed God would help us complete the never-ending journey. Our cloaks kept some of the searing sun from our faces, but we all wondered if we would live to see the end of the journey.
With our energy at an all time low, in the midst of the desert, someone screamed, “A sandstorm!” We stared at the on-coming phenomenon.
Abner halted and yelled. “Hurry! Help get wet cloths on the faces of the animals!”
We all rushed, glancing up at the distant storm. I poured water from the goatskins, other women held the cloths, and the men rapidly tied them around the heads of the asses and camels. “The cloths will prevent the animals from straying during the storm.” I heard Abner tell one of the men.
We then tied the animals together and the men held on to the ends of the ropes.
As I glanced at the storm I wondered, since the sand was so white, why did this spiraling phenomena appear so inky? I looked back as the forbidding storm moved nearer. The sound was merely a murmur, like a group of children whispering. Then, as it twirled closer, the sound became louder...whispers became a cacophony of sound hitting our eardrums like drum sticks.
Abner was everywhere...giving orders, showing us what to do, telling us everything was going to be all right.
“Now,” Abner ordered. “Wet your cloaks and capes, then get into a circle. Stoop down as low to the ground as possible.”
We made everyone"s clothing as wet as possible, then draped them over our entire bodies. After wetting the children and their clothing, we placed them in the center of our group and made a tent-like affair over them. We huddled together, our bodies stooped over the children as the blowing sand neared. The wail of the wind almost deafened us. It reminded me of a waterfall hitting rocks...only becoming louder as it neared. It clamored like a storm"s wind howling down the mountain. We stood in that half-stoop, half-sitting position, waiting for the sand to blow entirely over us. I tried to look around the circle. Even the person next to me appeared ghostlike as the sand embedded our clothing, turned our black hair to white and left us looking like sand statues.
As we held hands the sand pelted us so hard I felt it was hurled from the sky like huge balls. As it struck our bodies, tongues of fire licked us. We attempted to protect the children from the more violent sandy wind, but I knew some would have sand burns from this...if we survived.
The wind drove sand through clothing, into mouths and ears. We closed our eyes, then covered them with our wet cloaks. Nothing kept the driving sand from them. How we managed to clasp hands through the entire storm, I don"t know.
The circle our bodies made moved back and forth in a grotesque dance. We fought desperately to keep our positions during this horrible nightmare.
Once, I glanced around and saw an animal fall. The others attempted to move away from him, but they were so tightly tied together, it was impossible. I hated to think of the agony that poor animal was enduring, but no one dared move from the assigned position, though the braying cut through the wind sounds and battered our senses.
Finally the winds abated and sand slowed its swirling. Bits of leaves, sheepskin, papyrus...even a bone, fell from the cone and was deposited near us. The storm lost its anger and moved across the desert, its strength rapidly ebbing.
Bruised, battered and confused, we watched as the hellish storm disintegrated as though it had never been.
There was no more storm.
We slowly removed the cloths from our faces. Our children were reluctant to leave the safety of their human tent. We coaxed them out, holding on to them as tightly as possible. I"m sure the other parents felt as I did. They needed the comfort of these little bodies held clos