Hardship 

   Hardships are a part of life.  In my opinion they a very important part of life.  If we never know hardship we will never fully appreciate the blessings.  They serve to keep us humble and grateful to God for His many gifts.  Hardships teach us to look to God and rely on the strength He provides in such times.

   Consider for a moment some of the hardships Joseph and Mary knew.  Joseph was of the house of David which meant that he and Mary had to go to Bethlehem to be counted when Caesar Augustus ordered a census.  It is over 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem and they would have to travel by foot or donkey, averaging about 20 miles per day.  At that rate the trip would take nearly five days if everything went as planned

   Once they arrived in Bethlehem they found that there was no place for them to stay, the city was overcrowded for the census.  A stable, among the animals, was the best that could be found.  Imagine the heartache of Joseph when he was unable to provide proper shelter for Mary and the baby that was to be born.  The Savior of the world was placed in a feeding trough, a manger, for a crib.

   Shortly after Jesus’ birth they learned that Herod intended to kill Him.  At the warning of an angel, they packed up all they had and went into exile in Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod.  They surely knew of the slaughter of the innocents that occurred shortly after they left.  They must have felt at least somewhat responsible for that atrocity.

   In all the hardships the Holy Family experienced they trusted in God and His messengers, the angels.  They quietly, humbly obeyed, knowing that He was with them.  They dealt with the difficulties always confident that God was with.

   There are those who suffer great hardship in the world today, but most of us know little of true hardship.  We have become weak and complain of even the smallest of difficulties.  We forget that there are hardships which will test us and bring us to the breaking point.  We have forgotten what our Lord promised us, “All things are possible for God." (Mark 10: 27).