The Story: It's Beginning to Look a LOT Like Christmas

"Elizabeth! Please bring in the linens from outside!"

"Samuel! Samuel! I NEED you to stay focused and be a big boy tonight. I need all the help I can get! Where is the firewood I asked you to bring in?"

"My darling, Abijah. Would you please see to it that Samuel gets that firewood in? I am trying to be patient, but I reeeeeallly need everyone's help if we are to get all of these boarders fed and bedded down tonight."

"Yes, my love! Is there anything else I can help you with before I make sure that group from Gilead does not tear our little inn apart?"

"No, dear. I would rather you keep our home in-tact."

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Miriam appreciated the extra money that was coming in, but the added work load was putting a strain on her nerves and her worn out body. Elizabeth was such a big help. She was definitely turning into a little lady. It would not be long before she was running a home of her own.

Oh, my. And Samuel. Well, he tried to help. Sometimes Miriam laughed her head off at his boyish whims, and other times, she wanted to pinch his head off. Oh, well. She loved her little family and her dear Abijah. He was her rock.

Miriam was blessed to have a husband who loved her and provided well for their family. Their little business was booming these days, thanks to the Roman government.

She had one more room to prepare for the last guests that arrived during the dinner hour. That was it. Their inn was full to the brim. They weren't planning on allowing travelers to stay in Samuels room, but the extra income was sure going to help.

Abijah was waiting for her in their cooking room. He was counting, or rather examining, the coins from the Gilead group.

She chuckled at his lack of trust for these burly fellows.

Miriam sank onto the floor beside him. She wasn't sure if she could be any more exhausted than she was right now.

"Listen! Do you hear that?," she asked Abijah.

"What? I don't hear anything, except maybe that big guy snoring."

"That's just it," Miriam said in a whisper. "It's quiet. No yelling. No demands for more fish. No squabbles over the Roman taxes. No debates over which tribe is responsible for our servitude to the Romans. Just peaceful silence!"

Miriam had no sooner said the words, when the household dog, Baalum, started barking. She moaned from deep within as Abijah made his move towards the door.

Well, she didn't have to worry too much. There wasn't a single room left in their inn or home to put up another traveler.

As she swept the room one last time, she heard the voices.


She stopped in mid-sweep.

Did she hear correctly?

She quietly went to the window to see.

She gasped as she realized what she heard!



Why, she couldn't be much more than Elizabeth's age. And.... and... with child!

No! What was Abijah saying!?

She tugged on his cloak. He turned and looked at her as if to say, "Don't worry. I've already told them they can't stay."

She tugged again. This time a little harder.

As he turned again, she grabbed his arm to pull him closer so she could hear him.

"What! They don't want to do that!"

He excused himself from the young travelers and Abijah and Miriam went to the cooking room to speak.


"Abijah! She is just a child! And she is expecting~ from the looks of it, she could have that baby tonight!"

"I don't know what you want me to do. We have sold out every possible sleeping quarters in our home and the inn. The only place we don't have snoring bodies is the little stable outside!"

"That's it!" Miriam quipped. It's not the most comfortable, but it is the only private accomodations in this entire town! And if she did happen to have the baby, at least she would have some privacy."

As soon as she said it, Abijah knew there was nothing else he could say. She had that tone in her voice and the look in her eye that let him know it was decided. That is, if the young couple accepted, which he doubted very much.

Before Abijah could even blink, Miriam was back at the door talking to the couple.

He couldn't believe it. They were accepting her offer of staying... in the stable!???....

Abijah thought about awakening Samuel to help him move the hay and animals around so the couple could have a make shift bedroom, but he thought better of it when he saw he was sleeping so soundly.

It didn't take too long to get the stable situated. The young man, Joseph was his name, helped him. Abijah learned they were from Nazareth and had not been married more than a year. Abijah liked Joseph immediately. Carpenter by trade. Hard worker, and he could tell he loved his little wife.

There was something different about these two. Not just that she was expecting her first child.

No.... It was something else. Abijah, couldn't put his finger on it, but he would think about this some more.

What was it?

As Miriam found some more linens, she thought about the young couple. The girl said her name was Mary and that this was her first child.

Miriam found herself smiling. She hadn't even had the chance to share her news with Abijah.

She knew he would be glad, but she wanted the moment she told him to be special. She would wait another week.

She walked across the dirt path to the stable with the linens. The sky was gracious. No need for a clay lamp tonight!

It was in the light of a very bright star that she saw why the young couple were so insistent on taking any accomadations they could find. Mary's water had broken.

There would indeed be a baby born tonight!
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Well, I guess I will save the ending for next week.
Check back!

blessings to each of you as you remember the reason for this WONDERFUL season!

dorinda

I've joined this MEME. (I don't even know what that means!) Laurie sent me the link and I am so excited! Now at least I know I will get to write a story each week - on Fridays! Thanks, Laurie!