Telling the Beads Bead 1 - Episode 3 Mary and Joseph

B1 - E3 Mary and Joseph

The first few weeks of marriage were amongst the happiest days that Joseph had ever known. What a joy it was to have Mary about the house in which he had lived all his life. His father had been the village carpenter before him and had taught his son everything he knew. Joseph was proud to be following in his father's footsteps, using his tools and practising the skills he had learned at his father's knee.

Mary would sing to herself as she went about the daily chores, shopping for them both, meeting her friends at the market and talking over all the local news; visiting or cooking and sharing meals, sometimes with her parents or friends as their guests. She would pop into Joseph’s workshop, which was attached to the house, chatting for a while before carrying on with the tasks of the day.

As they set about creating their home together, they spoke often about Elizabeth and Zechariah and talked about ways in which they might be able to help them in their situation. Eventually, they came up with a plan. Mary would visit her cousin and stay as long as she was needed, to help her through the last few weeks before the baby arrived and through the early weeks of his life.

From the first moment that Mary had heard that her cousin was also expecting a baby, she had not only been full of joy for both Elizabeth and Zechariah but felt comforted in the knowledge that she was not alone in having a first and unexpected child, a son foretold by the message of an angel. 

Their situations were at opposite ends of the spectrum, she so young and Elizabeth, so much older. But the help and support they would be able to give each other as they faced motherhood together would be invaluable and mean a great deal to them both, Mary with the strength and resilience of the young and Elizabeth, the wisdom of age and experience.

Joseph was well able to care for himself and was more than happy for Mary to be at hand to help her cousin. The plans and preparations were made, the fond farewells to her parents and friends said and off they set on their journey towards the hill country of Judea.