...an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.
-Matthew 2:13-15

I can imagine the way Joseph must have felt when he received the instructions, in the middle of the night, to take flight to Egypt. There would be bewilderment and fear, followed by various calculations and possible resolutions. Another long walk was in order. Logistics would be an issue; How far, how much food and water and, of course, how much danger might they encounter along the way. In those first following minutes, he likely would have sighed deeply, wondering if this trial...this test, would ever end.

He might have reflected back at how this all started: He, a young aspiring carpenter, being betrothed to an equally humble, local woman of good report. Everything about his life was usual. That is, until he got the crucial piece of news that changed everything...Mary was pregnant. And not by him. Culturally speaking, Joseph was in a very tough situation. She would have been a public disgrace. Her life would be destroyed.

He had some hard choices to make and, like many dire decisions, it boiled down to two things: Do I choose to help myself or help another. Well, we know that he made the sacrificial choice. That choice was to not allow the sting of Mary's apparent betrayal determine the course of his actions. No, instead, he chose to protect her life by keeping her pregnancy a secret. Just as he was contemplating a quiet divorce, an angel let him know the truth of his situation...and the intact nature of Mary's virtue. So, he married her and took her in.

As the months passed, he probably continued to carry out his duties as usual until he was faced with the new problem of traveling to his hometown for the census; somehow taking his pregnant wife with him in the latent stages of her third tri-mester. There would be calculations; arrangements, speculations and then action would ensue. He would do whatever it took. He would make it happen. He would find a way.

Then, the problem of finding a place to stay. At this point, his wife was barely able to keep the baby at bay...a fact which I am sure Joseph was reminded of often. Pressure was mounting; stakes were becoming higher; nerves were frayed. There was no room in the inn. Everyone was already there for the census. But, the baby was coming. I am curious just how many people Joseph approached, as he led a very uncomfortable Mary around Bethlehem, asking for some small piece of floor where she could feel safe enough to bring forth child. They did find somewhere eventually.

Once situated, the King of Kings entered our world as a newborn baby. Along with little Jesus, came a completely new set of challenges and stressors for Joseph. Now, he was also a father. There would be calculations, speculations and plans. Of course, those plans would be put on hold because, now, he had to pack up the family and get to Egypt...and fast. Death was coming. Herod, the king, had ordered the deaths of all the boys, 2 years and younger, in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. Time to go.

I wonder what Joseph was thinking as he quickly packed what little food they had for the journey. I wonder if he really knew just how important his cargo really was. The truth is, that baby could have been anyone and Joseph would have acted exactly the same way. That is why God chose Joseph...because he would make sacrificial choices, again and again, for the sake of his wife and children...even to his death if need be. He would calculate, plan, figure and act. He would make it happen; get it done; see it through...no matter what.

To you men and women out there, be encouraged. We struggle, at times, with our obligations. But just look at Joseph and Mary...both of them thrust into a world they were not ready for. They certainly didn't ask for it. Yet, they overcame insurmountable circumstances. God chose them for a reason. Just as he chose you to care for the ones you love. You can do it, because you were meant to.

The story of Christmas is about so many things. It is about the birth of hope for a lost world; about the beginning of a new relationship between God and people; but it is also about two ordinary people, from humble families who trusted God, in the face of crisis, having no idea just how far that trust would take them, or how wonderful and costly it would truly be.