It would be about this time that Joseph and Mary would begin to prepare to go to Bethlehem.  The census had been decreed.  Everyone knew.  Maybe they hung back waiting for the birth of the baby.  No one knows.  It would be difficult for her to ride a donkey all that distance.  He did not have shock absorbers.  His back would be hard and stiff.  

 

Yet traveled they did.  What would take two hours to drive in a car took longer back then.  They would cross the Jordan because they would not travel through Samaria.  Then they would have to cross the Jordan again at Jericho.  At Jericho they would take a narrow road to Jerusalem.  Before Jerusalem they would go south to Bethlehem.  It was not an easy trip.  But travel they must.  Travel they did.

 

Many will travel this Christmas to see family and friends.  They will enjoy the day, exchange gifts, laugh, and watch Christmas movies.   All this because of two people who traveled to be counted.

 

As you travel, give thanks for your vehicle.  It is not a donkey.  Think about it. 

 

PS  There is another lesson here.  We benefit off someone else’s suffering.  Ever notice that?