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Mary, Sweet Mary Mary, sweet Mary, how fearful it must beTo leave the home of your dear birth in the hills of Galilee.Did sweet tears fall from your eyes, did your breaking heart turn cold? Or did you ponder the angel’s voice and the mystery he told?Mary, sweet Mary, now travel the lonely road.Bless you, child, for in your womb the Lord of Grace you hold.“Sweet Mary...” Joseph’s voice was the only comfort in the black night of early morning. She had been lying on the little pallet most of the night awake and waiting. Her hands ran over her tummy, swollen with the life of her unborn son.The grief had been so public and her joy so private these past months. Without a word, she took Joseph’s hand and struggled to her feet.Her parents had left with the others of the household of David the week before to register in Bethlehem. Joseph thought it best to let the others go ahead. Such is the price of carrying a baby whose father was not known. She was barely fifteen. Joseph was in his twenties. There was no send off, no farewells, no traveling mercies granted, no blessings of safety given.No children ran ahead of the little donkey to usher them from the village, only the day’s first light and the “good riddance” glances of the early risers.Hiding her tears behind her veil, she spoke the words of a child grasping for hope. “Joseph, tell me again about how it will all be.” Without turning from the path, Joseph told the tale again.“Bethlehem will be a much better place to live than Nazareth,” he began. “We’ll find a little home there. And I’ll find plenty of work! In the evenings, I’ll build you the finest furniture in all of Israel. Wealthy women will all be coming to your house just to look at the fine furniture you have. My sweet Mary, it’s going to be a wonderful life!”"My sweet Mary." It was Joseph’s way of showing his deep love for the young girl. "He could have had me stoned," she thought. "He could have had me shamed by the whole village." But Joseph had heard an angel, too. His righteous heart not only protected her but loved her as no other man could.And now an eighty-mile trek lay ahead of them. Traveling east to Scythopolis and then turning south along the Jordan Valley, they would reach Jericho in four days. From there, they would cross over the treacherous road that leads to Jerusalem and finally reach Bethlehem before the Sabbath.And, hopefully, the baby would wait.