We were pledged to one other,
Mary and I
and we longed for the day
when we would be man and wife
I loved her,
this young girl with dark eyes
and a heart full of God
Mary was my faithful betrothed,
she was the one I could trust
until one day…
She came to me
and, with trembling voice,
told me she was with child
and my heart broke in two
It was beyond my comprehension
that she would make this choice
this choice with so many consequences…
but my love for her
eclipsed my anger and disappointment
I planned to break our engagement,
a divorce of sorts,
so as not to embarrass
or shame the woman I loved
But God has a way
of stopping us just in time,
sometimes
and I heard from Him
in an unimaginable way!
One of God’s magnificent angels
visited me in a dream!
He told me not to be afraid
to take Mary as my wife
and that the baby growing in her
was placed there by the Holy Spirit!
The angel said that it would be a boy
and that I was to name Him Jesus!
because He would save His people
from their sins
As soon as I awoke
I was on my way
I ran immediately to my betrothed
and shared with her my love
and the beautiful message
she already knew in her heart
We would endure
the ridicule
the scorn
the gossip
the accusations
TOGETHER
for we knew that no matter what,
God was for us
I committed to her, and to God,
that we would not truly become husband and wife
in every sense of the word
until our son was born
But to everyone else
she became my wife
We traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem,
for I was of the house of David
and there our son was born,
ours and God’s
I wanted so much more for my small family
but because of the census, so many people flocked to this town
and my precious son was born
and laid in an animal’s trough
for there was no space for us
in a decent room
Surroundings aside,
I could not take my eyes off of this miracle child
and I could not have been more joyful
or more proud of this boy
who was not of my seed,
for God was with us
And I would dedicate myself
to raise this Divine Son along with His siblings
in a way honoring
the deity He was
and is
and is to come
– Susie Stewart
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through His prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
– Luke 2:1-7 (NLT)
Susie Stewart 