He awoke with a start
and sat straight up in bed;
He blew off the cobwebs by shaking his head.
He blinked in the dark, adjusting his eyes.
His wife still lay snoring, “heh, there’s no surprise!”
He just sat there, quite still, too stunned to perceive.
Yeah, he heard it. He saw it; but could he believe?
A bright light; an angel; a deep, booming voice;
A task, special mission; a cause to rejoice.
Now becoming more
conscious, he turned to his wife.
He had to inform her, this could change their whole life!
He shook her. She swatted; but this was no time to fold.
When you’re given big news, it has to be told!
So he shook a bit harder and called out her name.
He’d eventually wake her if he kept with the game.
Whether she sensed his excitement, or felt his stiff poke,
To him made no difference when she finally woke.
He’d been leaning in
when she started to stir.
Now they had matching bumps and a slight achy blur.
“What is it?” She growled. “It’s not even dawn!”
This lack of excitement he hadn’t planned on.
While rubbing his head, he took a deep breath.
She took this moment to ask “Is it life or death?”
Knowing her patience would quickly elapse,
He began to describe what he could yet grasp.
“I saw it my dear;
or, I heard it, more so.
A vision; An angel with bright, blinding glow.
He had a scroll in his hand and a sword at his side.”
The man stretched out his arms, “His wings were this wide!
The angel took the scroll and busted the seal.
I’m tellin’ you darling, he was the real deal!”
With his eyes now adjusted, he could make out her face.
His wife gave him that look, so he
cut to the chase.
“The angel, he told me, that within a few days;
Something would happen for which we’ve prayed.
The Leader, our Conqueror, the King of the Jews-
Would stay in this town and it’d be our inn He’d use!
He said to prepare, to make everything fine.
So, let’s ready the room and bust out the good wine!
We’d better get to it, I don’t know when He’ll come.
I don’t know what He’ll look like, or where He’ll be from.”
It was then that he
finished, his vision now said.
His wife made a face and then shifted in bed.
With daylight approaching he could more clearly see-
The surprise on her face, her eyes filled with glee.
“You mean to tell me,” her voice soft and low,
That Rome’s biggest threat has no place to go?
That He’d pick this little dump in this little town?
Why, there’s a much better place just a few houses down!”
He understood her
dismay, for he felt it himself.
This place had cracks in the ceiling and dust on each shelf.
But no matter the reason that they’d been picked out,
They’d make this place something worth talking about.
“Let’s get to work, honey, there’s no time to waste!”
So they rose from their bed and got ready with haste.
After a quick bite to eat and a wash of the face,
They set out to clean the best room in the place.
They aired out the
curtains and swept clean the floors.
They washed all the bedsheets and re-hung the doors.
With a bit of warm water, the room almost shone.
Who knew this old building could feel like a home?
With days turning to weeks, they just kept it up.
They repaired the ceiling and washed every cup.
But before they’d turn in, they’d give one last sweep-
To the best room in the house; where their hero would sleep.
Just a few months
later, their lives changed a bit:
New leader; A census; Every town would be hit!
People would travel from far city and town-
To get back to their home-place and put their name down.
To the innkeeper and wife, this was a great win.
They were right where they should be and they owned an inn!
They could fill up each night, not room left to be sold;
Except one for the guest that the angel foretold.
They’d keep that room
empty, in its spotless way;
No one would spoil it as they awaited the day.
The day that a man, so mighty and strong-
Would ride into town with his army along.
The day that their problems and burdens abound-
Would be stripped from their backs and kicked ‘cross the ground.
The day of conquest in the year of our Lord;
When Rome would crumble under his mighty sword.
The streets soon were
filled. The town burst at its seams,
With people and donkeys and oxen, in teams.
From such complete chaos, the innkeeper was right.
For weeks they were solid, booked full each night.
Patience wore thin and tempers shot high;
Rome messed up their lives without batting an eye.
The hope of a victor faded slowly each day.
The thought of a vision would soon pass away.
But that room stayed
empty, though they wanted its space.
They turned people away for not using the place.
His wife grew concerned that he’d dreamt the whole thing.
That there never was an angel and there’d be no king.
She trusted her husband. He kept of the same mind.
She might confront him one day, but it wasn’t the time.
By the end of the day, they were bone-tired and beat.
With so many people, who had time for a seat?
One particular night,
he remembered quite well.
It was extra dark out, although, who could tell?
Hardly a star up above to light up the sky.
There had been not a cloud, so he wasn't sure why.
People were leaving just as fast as they'd come;
But there'd always be others from where they came from.
There were boat-loads of faces and pages of names,
But one couple stood out as not-quite-the-same.
Their clothes were all ragged, their faces sunk in.
The man was quite tall, although gangly and thin.
She was hunched over and notic'bly round.
She looked about ready to just lie on the ground.
The man draped his arm and supported her frame.
When the innkeeper came out, he said "Joseph's the name.
We’re from out of town, from quite far away.
We wondered if you had a spare place to stay?
You see, my wife’s
time is soon and she needs her rest.
Trav’ling all this distance hasn’t offered the best.”
Joseph looked at the keeper, and awaited reply.
Suspense made it feel like hours flew by.
“I’m sorry my boy,” the innkeeper said,
“But we’re all full up. Haven’t even one bed.”
The answer came smoothly, without even a rasp.
It was then that poor woman let out a shrill gasp.
The keeper’s wife
came behind to see the alarm;
With such a pitched note there just had to be harm.
She found the young woman hunched over in pain,
And her young man’s face had complete color-drain.
She rushed to her side and set her straight on that stoop.
Both men were frozen, completely out of the loop!
The young girl was so worn, like she’d lived a hard climb.
She grabbed her man’s hand and said “Joseph, it’s time.”
With no room in their
inn, at least so they told,
They left her deliver outside in the cold.
With the animals moved, a cave was their place.
The women went to work, the men had to pace.
What started at sunset went well into the night.
It took hours of torment and lots of sheer fight.
And then sometime in the dark, on an unmarked day,
A baby was born and then laid in the hay.
Whether what they were told, or the truth in their heart,
The inn-couple knew that they had to restart.
The angel’s message was not one of brute might;
But rather, a baby, born this very night.
A message of hope; A message of love;
A message of God coming down from above.
This baby, their Savior; the one the angel foretold.
Now, their great job was to get him out of the cold!
Once extra guests
left, and the angels were through,
The innkeeper and wife did what they had to do.
That special guest room was the new family’s place.
The keepers closed the door and just thanked God for grace.
They had missed the whole point of what the angel said.
They’d made room for the ‘finest’ and left Christ with no bed.
They had lost sight of God and just worshiped the thought.
Our Lord isn’t honored in what’s trimmed up and bought.
Don’t Ever Let That
Happen To You.
Elecia Hoffman, Dec. 2015
