Location: Midwest farm...the Kitchen.
A young boy of the age of 12 with brown hair sat at a kitchen table, writing something on a paper, possibly a homework assignment. Into the kitchen comes a woman with brown hair, tied in a bun in a blue dress with a baby on the hip. There are two small children trailing behind her, and she is carrying a bag of groceries.
"Jesus..."
She didn't even have to finish His name, the young boy at the table had turned when she came in the room and was already rising from his chair, taking the grocery bag from her and digging into the bag to put the food away.
Jesus, looking puzzled at the child his Mother was carrying, touched the baby of about 11 months on the cheek and said, "Who is this?"
The young Jesus then noticed the two children hiding behind his Mother. He knelt down as His Mother moved out of the way and spoke to the newcomers.
"Well, hello." He looked at the child closest to him, "What is your name?"
The children looked shy and scared, unsure of their new environment, unsure if they should divulge any information.
Mother Mary then gently touched the head of the tallest, blond headed boy as she said, "This is James, he is 8, and that is his little brother Joseph who is 5." Mother then spoke directly to the boys. "Boys, this is your new brother Jesus." She then turned to the little girl she was holding, brushing the hair out of her eyes. "And this is Miriam their little sister."
Jesus took the baby from His Mother's arms, leaving her free to begin to prepare the food she had brought.
"Come on," Jesus said, "Let me show you the house and the workshop where Dad is."
"They are probably hungry, so tell your Dad we are going to eat a little early."
"I will."
"Jesus, don't take Miriam to the workshop, please put her in the playpen, she is crying because she is hungry now. I'm going to warm up some milk and feed her "
Jesus did as His Mother requested, but looked questioning at her wondering if she needed help. She looked back with the look of, "It's ok, I've got this."
Jesus led the boys through the house, showing them the different rooms. He showed them their rooms, and the beds they would sleep on. He then took them to an outbuilding/barn near the animal pens where sawing could be heard.
The older man looked up from his work to the door and saw a shadow of a young boy, with the sun shining bright behind him. His heart leaped at the sight of the form of his son. Jesus stepped into the workshop and two smaller boys where revealed to be behind him.
Seeing the new children, Joseph looked questioningly at his son.
Jesus looked back at him as if to say, "You know who did this."
Joseph nodded slightly for he knew indeed who had brought these children into the household. His wife was always bringing some new child into their home as either a permanent or temporary addition. Sweet Mother that she is, if she was out and saw or heard of a child being mistreated, hungry or abandoned, she would say, "Give the child to me, I will be it's Mother." As a result, the Joseph and Mary house was always full of children.
Joseph never questioned any of this, he would just thank God that as a carpenter he could provide whatever the new child or children needed. He knew his wife's faith was completely unshakable and as a result, the family had lacked nothing, no matter it's size.
Once when Joseph had questioned Mary about how they were to feed all the children that she had brought into the house, Mary didn't even look distressed. Mary sat down at the kitchen table, next to Jesus, looked Jesus in the eye and said, "I'm sure that God will provide for us whatever we need." Mary's eyes never wavered from her son's face as she then added, ".....Isn't that right, Jesus."
Jesus looked to his stepfather Joseph for help, but Joseph just looked silently at his son, as if to say, "She's got you there son. You know how hard it is to say 'no' to her."
Jesus gently looked back at his Mother and smiled as He said, "Yes Mother, I am sure God will provide whatever we need."
And so it was.
Back in the barn Jesus turned to his stepfather and said, "This is James, and his younger brother Joseph."
Joseph said, "James and Joseph, welcome to the family! We will have a great time and if you like I will teach you what I am doing."
Little James spoke up, "What are you doing?"
"Well, do you see these chairs here? God put it on my heart to make them a couple of weeks ago, and I am just finishing them, just in time for your arrival! You see God knows everything, and He knew I would need these chairs for you."
"Oh, Mother said we are going to eat early, so we should probably go to the house."
"Alright, let's grab the chairs."
Joseph and Jesus each grabbed a chair, and they each took the hand of a child and began to walk back to the house.
As they neared the house, Joseph could hear the cry of an infant. Joseph stopped and looked at Jesus. Jesus put down the chair he was carrying, and held up three fingers.
Joseph smiled as he said softly, "Of course there is three, I wouldn't have it any other way. "
"OK boys, let's get in and get washed up before supper."
