Joe

Devotional for December 23, 2010

There was a brilliant flash of light in the Eastern sky.

Joe! Pull into that McDonald's! Up there on the right!

Why?



I have to use the bathroom! Quickly Please!


Joe twitched a little as he spoke, This is the second time tonight.


I know. I know. This baby is pressing on my bladder.


A light snow was falling. The 95 Ford Focus with its right tail light out and a wisp of blue smoke in the exhaust, rounded the corner and came to rest in front of the Golden arches. The passenger side door swung open and a female figure labored out.


Thanks Joe, she said as she slammed the door and swiftly waddled toward restaurant entrance.


Joe sank back in his seat and played with the radio.


He spoke softly to himself, I wonder if a storm is coming in? It's about par for the course. He thought about the entire situation. He thought, I just tell the guys back at the shop, that this baby's mine. They razz me about not being married, but saying he's mine is safer story to tell than the one she keeps telling me. I want to believe her. It's pretty hard. On the other hand, it's hard for me to believe she'd be sleeping around. She isn't like that. Yet her story is so far fetched. Oh I see her, here she comes.


The radio blared, “There's a weather system moving in across the Eastern Sierras. Expect 6-8 inches of snow. If you don't have to go anywhere, stay home.”


With coffee, french fries, and an ice cream in her hands, she yanked open the door.


That was a close one but I made it in time. Here, I got you some fries and coffee. I got myself some ice cream. If you see a 7-11 could you stop, I have a hankering for some pickles.


Thanks for the coffee and fries, dear. I'm going to need them. Ice cream for you huh?


Yes, just felt like some. Oh! Oh! My lower back.

Joe, instinctively reached over and massaged her lower back.


Thanks, Joe. Did you ever think that the two of us would be out here in the middle of nowhere, unmarried and in this condition? She pointed toward her overly extended abdomen.

No. I can't say any of this was on my radar.


By this time Joe had the engine started and was backing out of the parking place. He shortly found his way back to I-80. The snow was coming down heavier.


I sure hope we can make it over the pass. This storm seems to be getting worse.


Joe turned the heater up.


Oh thanks Joe, that feels better. Joe? Now, don't panic!


What?


I feel something. I think my water's burst.


Joe fingers locked around the wheel and his stomach knotted up.


There was another flash of light in the Eastern sky..


A sudden peace fell on both of them. Joe's stomach un-knotted. His not-yet-bride breathed easier and softer. Joe saw some lights ahead.
Maybe that's a town.


Joe?


Yes?


Do you love me?
He reached over and gently held her hand and said, come closer.


She inched over in her seat and rested her head on Joe's Shoulder. She said, You didn't answer my question.


The answer is Yes. Yes I love you.
I hope we find a hospital or at least a motel soon.
Just trust Joe. Just trust.
The snow had now accumulated a few inches on the road and the car swerved a bit as Joe corrected it.


He said, I don't think we're going to make the pass.


She said, I don't think we're going to make the pass either.
Joe took the off-ramp and was soon at a Motel 6. I'll be right back, he said as he got out of the car and made his way into the lobby.


She could see Joe, through the glass double doors. He was talking to the night clerk The clerk was shaking his head side-to-side. Occasionally, he would glance out the window at the woman in the car. Then he would point as though he was giving directions. Soon Joe was coming back out toward the car.


What did he say?


He said they are full up. This storm coming in has people getting off the roads. He said the closest hospital is 200 miles ahead. He said we might try the Stockmen hotel and Casino. It's a few miles from here.


OK, let's just pray they have a place for us.


Before long, the smoke-emitting Ford was in front of an old brick building adorned in flashing lights. I think this is it.


Joe parked the car close to the entrance and the both of them got out and scurried up the steps of the hotel. They pulled open the large glass doors, trimmed in Gold and were greeted by a 10 foot, 4 inch giant white polar bear stuffed and standing guard. The air was filled with sounds of bells and clinking coins. Like trapped animals hunting for the hotel check-in, they made their way swiftly over dazzling carpets guided by dazzling lights past blue-haired ladies chained to slot machines and Asian men seated at black-jack tables inhaling cigarettes and exhaling smoke rings. The couple's eyes caught site of a long mahogany counter staffed by two young ladies dressed in freshly pressed blue jackets. The lady on the right was filing her nails while the lady on the left was talking excitedly on the telephone. As the bedraggled couple reached the counter, the lady on the left put down the phone and said, There's something going on out there at David's Meadow. I just got off the phone with my sister. She lives out that way, you know. People have been seeing flashing lights. Well you probably aren't interested in all of that. How can I help you?


We're in need of a room?

Glancing up and down at the lady and her extended belly, the blue coated lady said, It looks like you two already had a room. After a bit of pause she said, Just kidding. Well, actually we don't have any rooms and that I'm not kidding about. The storm and all you know.


In frustration Joe said, We need something! Anything! She's about ready to drop this baby in your lobby.

Just then, there was a blinding flash, brighter than the lights on the slots. People looked up for a moment and said, What was that?

An exasperated Joe, stared softly into the eyes of his lady he loved, his lady who was about to give birth at any moment. Joe hadn't notice a man with a neatly trimmed beard wearing a white sports jacket come out from behind the counter.

The man with the beard spoke, I've been listening to your plight. I'm the manager here. It's true we're all full-up.Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys and handed them to Joe. Here these are the keys to my RV. It's quite nice. It's heated and I'm not using it. You're welcome to it for as long as you need it. It's outside, right around back.


Joe said, How can we repay you?


You don't need to. It's Christmas you know.


So, the young couple were last seen entering an RV, parked back of the old Stockmen hotel. A brightness filled the sky. Sounds like angels singing drowned out the clamor of the casino and Joe, his unmarried wife, and their newborn child slept warmly through the night.
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This story was written by a member of the writing class that I have been taking. It is an interesting take on the story of Jesus' birth as told in....

Matthew 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”).

I thought you might enjoy this unique take on the story and find material to meditate on.

Written by Chuck McConaghy

Shared by Corinne Mustafa