Mary peers through a window
And watches Jesus playing on a pile of sand

She reflects as she often does on her memories
Of this wonderous child
The angel
The misunderstanding with Joseph
Her visit with Elizabeth
The long journey to Bethlehem
And his birth among the animals
The amazing tale of the shepherds
The day with Simeon and Anna in the Temple
Their years of exile in Egypt and the
Return home to Nazareth
She remembers times of nursing him and
Singing him to sleep
Of sitting him on her lap and making faces
And silly sounds
Of noticing how the muscles in his neck
And arms, and legs became stronger

With a smile she recalls chasing him around when
He began to crawl and get into things
And then the day when she and Joseph heard
His first word
They thought it sounded like abba.

And she would never forget the look of joy on
His young face as he took his first step
And now he sits on the sand
Delighting in the feel of the tiny grains
Flowing over his fingers
What an amazing child!
A week ago a woman visiting from Bethlehem
Told her a tragic tale of how her infant son
Was taken from her side
By Herod's soldiers

She said, He would have been seven this month.
Mary then realized that
This must have happened just after Joseph
Fled with them to Egypt
He was warned in a dream
But this woman had no warning
The soldiers had killed her son before her eyes
And she never knew why
Mary wept with her
For she felt as if her heart had been pierced
With a knife

Later that night as she watched the stars
She remembered saying to the angel something like
I surrender my life to your will.
Then she wondered
Was the death of that young boy part of Your will?
I do not understand, but still I will trust you
As did our father Abraham.