I knew words were spoken at our front door

When my husband said, "Shalom", and nothing more,

There was something odd I heard in his tone

That compelled me to see who visited our home

But as I moved to the door my man closed it fast,

And from his eyes, a look somberly cast

That told me that something was very wrong

And the time that passed was far too long

Before he spoke again to me.

He  said simply, "My dear, please let them be."

"But my husband", I said with concern in my heart

For the distress in his eyes just tore me apart,

"We must show kindness, with water, food,

To not show them peace would be evil, rude."

"My darling wife", was all he would say

"Let's give them the night and the rest of this day

To grieve in their spirit and just be alone

Then tomorrow we'll invite them into our home."

I knew it was grievious, it was deep in his voice

The knowledge he bore gave him no choice,

We'd moved in such haste in the middle of the night

In a dream God had spoken, and I trusted Him right,

"As you wish, my lord", I said, obeying his word

But as I turned, a tiny voice I heard,

Our precious child, our son, our firstborn,

Went to my husband whose face was forlorn,

"Don't cry daddy, God did it for me."

"I know my son, what must be will be."

Now I knew my son was a gift from above

To demonstrate the extent of God's great love

Just over two years old, my baby knew things I didn't know

For he came from above and I from below,

And there were times when moments passed between us

That I then shared with his father who was righteous and just,

So I didn't sleep well that night at all

And in his sleep, my husband did call,

"Oh Lord, have mercy upon sinful man

And comfort your children the best that you can."

And then a strange thing, I saw my sweet son

Rise from his bed and to my husband did come,

He lay at our side on our bed made of fleece

And suddenly my husband was filled full of peace,

And as my boy nestled close to my man

I could see that somehow it was all in God's plan,

And in the morning, as a family, we prayed for our guests

That God would show mercy and we'd do our best

Then the door swung open wide,

And I saw who it was that stood outside,

I saw a woman, eyes swollen, red,

There could only be one reason, her baby was dead,

Next to her stood, in deep despair

Her husband trying to comfort her there,

Rachel stood there, tears streamed from her eyes,

"Joseph, Mary, do you realize

In sweet Bethlehem, what they've done

A fortnight ago 'neath the setting sun?"

Words caught in her throat, raspy and dry

Rivers of tears ran down as she cried,

Jacob, in voice ragged and torn, said,

"My boy, my boy, they've killed my firstborn!

They came, the soldiers, with clubs and swords

With orders to kill all new babies born

Two years and under, they killed every one,

And did not stop when they came to my son,

We begged and we pleaded, but they would not hear

That one was the New King, that was their fear,

My baby was born just two weeks ago

A light breeze was blowing, the stars all aglow

Joseph screamed out and tore at his clothes

I could say nothing, my body just froze,

I looked at Rachel and felt her pain

And I looked at Jacob, then Rachel again,

What could I do or what could I say

That would make her feel better, her pain go away?

Suddenly, a tiny presence was felt at our feet

We looked down to see Jesus, his face was so sweet,

"Don't cry daddy, mommy don't cry,

God told me to tell you He loves you that's why."

Words from a mouth of a baby so dear

And we stopped everything in our effort to hear,

Rachel looked into Jesus' eyes

To her lips came a smile, to me a surprise,

She scooped up my baby, held him so tight

Everyone knew that things would be all right,

"I love you Jesus", was all Rachel said

But it seemed they were talking inside their heads,

I looked at Rachel who was crazy with grief

All that I saw now was peace and relief,

Jacob too, looked calm, serene,

As he looked upon this wondrous scene...

And I, Mary, tell you - this story is true -

Jesus made Rachel's life all brand new,

Rachel's in heaven now with her baby boy

Experiencing now salvation's pure joy,

She received him as Lord, as I did that day,

And our happiness never has gone away,

So I say to you all right here in this room

Do tell me now, what will you do?

Is Jesus your Savior? or is He your foe?

Receive Him today and joy you will know.