Eight Months Pregnant and Riding a Donkey

Okay — so I am pondering the thoughts of Mary again. Consider this — she is eight months pregnant. Eight. Months. Pregnant. And Joseph walks in with news that would make any expectant mother drop her water jar.

“Pack your bags, Mary. We’re heading to Bethlehem for the census.”
Bethlehem. Eighty dusty miles. On a donkey.

Now I don’t know about you, but if I had been Mary, I might have quoted Scripture right back at him: “Wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14). As in — wait until after the baby arrives!

But somehow Joseph must have smiled with steady faith and said, “Mary, be strong and take heart. God has this. God has us.”

How could God possibly be in a tax trip at eight months pregnant? Well, that would be because God had promised something bigger than comfort.

The Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem. Prophecy needed fulfillment. Heaven needed positioning — and God used a Roman census to move this Holy Family right where they needed to be.

The Bible doesn’t tell us if Mary connected every dot. But it does show us her heart. She wasn’t loud with panic. She was quiet with trust. The same girl who once sang, “The Mighty One has done great things for me,” (Luke 1:49) now climbs onto a donkey and rides straight into prophecy.

And here we are—counting down to Christmas with our own detours:
Illness? Canceled flights? Unexpected bills? Plans that unravel?

Bethlehem reminds us that God often uses our interruptions as invitations. What feels like inconvenience may actually be divine repositioning.

“Wait for the Lord,” Psalm 27:14 says. That word wait also means hope. Not dread. Hope. Expectation with steady courage.

Mary is my role model. I want to have her calm when plans change. Her trust when the road is long. Her hope when the night is crowded with questions.

If God can guide Mary through prophecy on a donkey, He can guide us through December. Let’s trust the detours — they just might be HOLY ones! 🤍

#MarysYes #prophecy #Joseph #countdowntochristmas