Unafraid Read Online Free PDF Page A

want,” the man growled, “but it won’t change anything!” Regret flickered as he glanced at Mary again. “A curse upon the Roman dog who put people like you on the road.” He shoved Joseph back and slammed the door. There was a loud thud as he dropped the bar, denying entrance to anyone else.
    Shaking, Joseph turned to Mary. Her eyes grew huge. “Ohhh . . .” Her voice was taut with pain, her arms around her belly, her knees drawing up.
    He knelt down quickly and gripped her arms. “Hold on. Oh, Mary, hold on.”
    The pain eased and she looked at him with tear-washed, frightened eyes. “He will come soon, no matter where we are.”
    Oh, Lord, help us! Joseph looped the donkey’s reins into his belt and lifted Mary in his arms. Lord, Lord, show me where to go! “The Lord will help us, Mary,” he said as he carried her. “He will help us.” He fought back the doubts attacking him. Mary groaned and her body tensed in his arms. Fear filled him as he looked around, frantically searching for help.
    An older woman sat, leaning against a wall, a worn blanket wrapped snugly around her. “Try the caves down there.” A gnarled hand appeared from beneath the soiled blanket, a bony finger pointing. “The shepherds keep their flocks there in winter, but they’ll be out in the hills now.”
    “May the Lord bless you!” Joseph carried Mary down the hill and across a flat stretch. He saw the mouth of a small cave above him and headed for it. He wrinkled his nose as he entered the dark recesses, for the air was dank and fetid from the odors of dung and smoke. The donkey followed him into the cave and headed straight for the manger near the back.
    Mary tensed in his arms again and cried out. Fear washed over Joseph as he looked at the filthy floor of the cave. Is this the place where the Messiah will be born? Tears filled his eyes. Here, Lord?
    “He’s coming . . . ,” Mary said. “Oh, Joseph, Jesus is coming.”
    What did he know about helping a woman bear a child? Was there time to find a midwife? Even if he had time, where would he go to look for one, and what of Mary in his absence? “You must stand here a moment.” He set her gently on her feet. “Use this post for support while I prepare a place for you.”
    He found a pitchfork and spread straw in the stable near the back, then yanked his blanket from the pack on the donkey and spread it over the straw. He helped Mary lie down. “Try to rest while I build a fire and find water.” Kindling and firewood were stacked to one side of the entrance of the cave, and a cask of water stood near a trough. He tasted it and found it surprisingly fresh.
    Within a few minutes, he had a small fire going in the pit near the center of the cave. Above it, the ceiling was blackened by years of soot, the floor caked with the packed dung of hundreds of animals who had been sheltered here over the years. “I’m sorry, Mary.” He knelt beside her, tears running down his cheeks into his beard. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find a better place for him to be born.”
    She took his hand and pressed it against her cheek. “God brought us here.” Her fingers tightened and she began to pant and groan. He felt her pain as though it were his own. For the first time in his life, Joseph wished he was other than a carpenter who knew nothing of these matters. He begged God for wisdom, for help, for Mary’s intense pain to be over, and for the child to be safely delivered. And then, Mary uttered a sharp gasp, and Joseph saw water spread a stain over the blanket beneath her hips. “Tell me what I can do to help you!”
    “Nothing.” Her grip eased on his hand, but she smiled through her pain. “Haven’t women been going through this since the Garden of Eden?” She closed her eyes as another contraction came rolling over the first, her fingers tightening painfully around his. When the pain passed, she panted heavily. “My mother gave me a small bag of salt, a piece of sharp slate, some