Crowded

Her time had come and together with her new husband they were trudging along towards a crowded Bethlehem. 

Between contractions and bumps they made their way towards that noisy city; full of travelers there to register. 

This young woman with her story no human could ever believe without faith, was carrying a babe that would change the course of history. 

They searched from inn to inn and house to house for a place to rest their weary bones. 

Between signs and pains of birth this crowded city ignored. 

Then at last they found a place to shelter them from the night. A stable, small and meant for beasts. 

Yet, here in this humble place of crowded slumber. 

A King was born. 

- - - -

The other day we were building a Lego manger scene with the kids. For the first time it struck me how very crowded that stable must have been. With animals, and later shepards there would have been little to no privacy.

But Jesus came to be with the people.From the very first hours of his life he was with the people- born in an overflowing city and crowded stable.

Later in his life he was always compassionate to the people, never pushing them away for the sake of his privacy.

In our times we sometimes fret and complain because we have no space, no worldly mansion, no place of our own.

Yet perhaps we need to look beyond that to the one who came to prepare for us a home that will never fade, and learn a lesson from him who didn't even have a place to lay his head.