Of course, Christmas is only possible because of the birth of Jesus but for a spirited blog today, I thought about what it would have been like if Mary would have written a Christmas letter.

Dear Friends & Family,

This has been quite a year.  Joseph asked me to marry him and I said “yes.”  We were so excited about planning a wedding and hanging out together in our village.  Although it took a while for Dad to accept his little girl was going to get married, he was very glad that Joseph is such a hard worker and will be a good provider.

We also got some surprising news.  Although I had never been with a man, I was visited by an angel in the middle of the night to tell me this news.  I thought I was dreaming but he told me to not be afraid.  I know you believe in angels and God’s presence but this was really a little scary.

His name was Gabriel and he told me all about myself and explained to me that even though there was no way possible for me to be pregnant, I would conceive a baby from the Holy Spirit.  It’s very complicated to explain but I promise you that this baby is from the Lord.

Joseph was really mad at me.  He didn’t believe me until the angel appeared to him and told him the same thing.  It’s truly a miracle.

What are the chances that we had to go to Bethlehem for the census this year right around my due date?!!  It wasn’t really a very pleasant trip as I was very far along in my pregnancy and had to ride a donkey for miles.  My back and tailbone hurt so bad.  Joseph would stop periodically and let me take a rest.

We didn’t make reservations before we got to Bethlehem and when we arrived, all the rooms were sold out!  I couldn’t believe it.  Joseph begged people to take us in but no one had availability.  So we made our bed in this barn on the hill.  And that is when my sweet boy decided to make his entrance into this world.

Oh goodness it was a hard labor but God was with us and we have a beautiful baby boy.  Joseph is so proud of his son and I love being a momma.  His name is Jesus and I’m not exactly sure how much He weighed or how long He was.  He has the tiniest little fingers and toes and a lot of dark hair.  I can’t say that He looks like either one of us.

Word travels fast and we had a lot of visitors from all over the country.  Even some of the shepherds left their sheep and came to see us because an angel appeared to them to tell them about Jesus.

Although I don’t understand it all, I know that for some reason we were chosen to get to be parents of this amazing little boy.  We can’t wait to see how God is going to use Him.

I pray your family is doing well and look forward to what God is going to do in each of our lives.

Merry Christmas,

Mary, Joseph & Jesus