The Innkeeper

   First of all – let me just say, that is just my musing. Please go back to the Bible to read the true and complete account of the birth of Christ.

   A census was called, and the innkeeper started looking around the family business to see that all the supplies and materials were in place. Soon people would be flooding into the town of Bethlehem. The days passed and the crowds converged. The innkeeper could feel his stomach tightening up again, every time he saw the Roman soldiers appear in the street, the fears and frustrations of an occupied nation. But looking on the bright side, business would be good. The customers would be grumbling though, this census would probably be used by Caesar Augustus for the tax registration list.
   The innkeeper continued to check supplies, mentally trying to figure what would be needed and what could be kept in stock. As people trailed into the city, dusty and smelling of their travels, he wandered out and over to the stable. The food trough was set up with adequate supplies for the time being. Moving back to the inn, the gentlemen greeted his guests. They kept coming, returning to their family home. Soon, the entire place was full. People, dust, animals, baggage, the place filled up. The inn was full of people and the innkeeper was now in a place where he had to turn people away. He hated to do that, they looked tired and would wander off looking for someplace else to go.
   A young man came to the door and knocked, looking for a room. The innkeeper felt his heart sink as he looked past the man to the young and very pregnant woman behind him. There were no places let, what could he do. The innkeeper finally offered up the only suggestion he had, the stable.
   The innkeeper walked them out to the manger. He heard about the journey that the couple had made. It wasn’t going to be very comfortable, but the innkeeper tried to do what he could. He made a mental note to send his wife later to check on the young mother to be.
   Later that evening, exhausted from the hustle of the day, the innkeeper finally prepared for rest. Following his last minute evening rituals, he lay his head down and felt sleep drift over. He lay much this way until the middle of the night when a cry pierced the night. That young woman, she must be about ready to deliver the child. The innkeeper woke his wife and she returned to the stable to help as she could. Several hours later, the child was born and a tired, but happy woman returned to tell her husband the good news.