The Creator of Romance

The kids and I watched The Nativity Story yesterday. I think we will watch it every Christmas season.

I was struck by the romance of the story of Joseph and Mary. God could have chosen Mary's mother to be with her during the birth and days leading up to it, or her Aunt Elizabeth, or an esteemed physician, but instead he chose a carpenter. A humble man who had already chosen Mary to be his bride, a man who had chosen to remain with her and protect her in this position of great honor and great difficult. He traveled with her many miles to Bethlehem caring for her, providing for her, making moment by moment sacrifices to ensure that she and the Messiah child were safe. They must have grown so close during this time. Both of them thrust into circumstances that were completely new to them. The Bible said that Joseph did not "know" Mary until after Jesus was born. To me, this makes it even more romantic. He was serving her, learning to love her, all while waiting for her. I guess we don't know for sure, but in the busyness of Bethlehem and being in a stable, he probably was the only one to help her during the labor and delivery of the baby Jesus. I think of how overwhelming the birthing process is to any new Daddy - but Joseph a man who had never "been" with a woman, and with no one but him to step in, became Mary's partner during her tremendous pain and delivery. He was there to catch the baby and place it in Mary's arms. What must he have felt as he watched Mary with the baby? I can only imagine the way their hearts must have been knit together at that moment.

In these days when romance is so shallow and selfish, I was reminded that God created romance and that love is a thing of great beauty. When we give of ourselves and seek the other person's good above our own we can create a romance that lasts forever and the story of it can be passed down for generations to come. I want to leave a legacy of romance - a romance with my God and a romance with the man He blessed me with in this life.