His wife slept

Lesson Six of the Nine Lessons and Carols is Luke 2: 1; 3–7

His wife slept.
He was grateful that she could
He could not.
His mind was overtaken by crowded thoughts
As he sat near the manger
Watching the newborn fitfully sleep.

He struggled with the weight of what had happen
In the past year of his life.
His betrothed had been found to be pregnant,
And he knew the child wasn’t his.
He was angry.
He was heartbroken.
A visit by an angel?
Who would have imagined?
Marry her anyway.
Hadn’t he struggled to accept that?
To obey?
To believe that this child was of the Holy Spirit.

Then, of all times, in all places,
After his world has turned upside down,
Caesar changed his plans.
Go to Jerusalem.
Take his betrothed across country,
To the home of his ancestors.

He wasn’t even surprised
After everything else that had happened
That the child would come as they arrived in the town.
No room, no place to stay, no plans, no help.
At least the innkeeper had offered them a stable.

He had found a clean place for her
Clean straw, clean water.
The manger was falling apart,
So he had taken nails from his pack,
And hammered them into the wood.
As he struck the blows,
His wife had cried with the labor pain.

Finally, both of them slept
She in the straw,
He in the manger, carefully wrapped.
And Joseph sat keeping watch,
struggling to catch up with his life.