A baby was born

Mary became more uncomfortable as her round frame stretched.
She waited and hoped for relief just like any other expectant mom.
I am sure she had back aches and heart aches
no different than any other mom for the first time.
As she asked herself
how will I love this child,
how will I care for him?
So many questions moved across her mind
I am sure she was overwhelmed
after all she was only a teen.
Can you even imagine delivering a baby in a barn
where animals had slept
in the midst of odors that were unpleasant?
Perhaps Joseph found a clean stash of hay
to place in a well used water trough to use as a manger.
There would be no incubator or warming lights.
There would be no soft blankets or sleepers or diapers or booties
for the tiny legs that would thrash in the night.
Was it cold or perhaps it was very warm.
There were no midwifes to help through the labor process
or crushed ice or even water to wash the baby in the completed birth.
What did Mary and Joseph do?
Custom would say that Joseph had to stay away until the birth was over…
did he do that?
Was Mary alone in the barn laboring with every contraction?
Where were her parents or friends… did they care?
What did she lay down on
perhaps the blanket from the donkey?
So many things we are not told.
So many parts of the story are mysteries.
In the city of Bethlehem there would be a baby
born in the midst of a busy time
and because of that time the stable
was the only place given to Joseph.
Mary being round with child after a long donkey ride
needed a resting place.
I am sure she was so tired and so worn from the journey
a bed of straw might have been a welcome place.
So many things not told to us about the birth of this baby.
Do we care…
are we compassionate enough to wonder
how Mary gave birth to a son
in the city called Bethlehem.
so much to think about ~so much to process.
A baby was born.