Have you ever been on a vacation? I bet so. I remember when we took our kids to Disney World when they were much younger. We lived nearly 9 hours from Orlando, but it didn’t seem so long of a ride. We sang songs, played games, slept a little. I mean, everyone else in the car slept. I just drove. And then before long, we began seeing signs for the Magic Kingdom! We were getting really excited now. The only problem was that it was almost midnight. Still, it was exciting to see how close we were getting. It wouldn’t be long now.
6 days later…
We all packed into the same car and made the 72-hour trip back home. It wasn’t really 72 hours, but it seemed like it. Have you had that same experience? The trip down wasn’t nearly as bad as the trip back. It wasn’t nearly as long. But on the way back…all I can say is WOW! Everyone crashed. Not the cars, the family! The kids were so worn out that they were asleep and drooling in the back seat. The car was quiet and I kept slapping myself in the face just to try and stay awake. I did the whole “roll the window down” thing to get some fresh air hitting my face. That didn’t work. I kept stopping for coffee. That just made the trip that much longer. It was almost like I was caught in some kind of time vortex and was never getting out. I was never getting home. Have you been there? Then the kids wake up and are hungry, they need to go to the bathroom, and then they ask the forbidden question, “When will be we be there?”
2000+ years ago…
Mary and Joseph making the trip back to Nazareth. 90 something miles, riding on the back of a donkey, WITH A NEW BABY! Now the ride back from the Magic Kingdom doesn’t seem so bad. Changes in life seem to happen in stages. There was the stage before birth when Mary was pregnant. Now there is the baby stage! What do you think the conversation was between Mary and Joseph on the way back to Nazareth? They held the Savior of the world. Mary knew. Joseph knew. The shepherds knew. I’m sure there were many questions like, “what now?” Neither Mary nor Joseph ever raised a child, so this would all be new to them. I mean, how do you raise the King of kings and the Lord of lords? There would be so many questions over the next years to come and so many confusing moments raising Jesus.
I imagine Mary and Joseph had some sweet times together with Jesus on the way back to Nazareth. Hard days would be ahead, but for now, just sweet times.
Hope you enjoyed the music! It’s one of my favorites!