Flight Into Egypt

As I thought about drawing a Nativity this Christmas these scriptures came to mind:
Matthew 2:13-16
13 ... the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 ¶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

What it must have been like to flee into the night with a new baby to a foreign land. Where would they live? Would they be safe?

We once moved from one coast of the US to the other with a new born. We traveled by VW bus and slept in motels. We were going to a state we had never been to before without knowing where we would live. It was a little scary. But we weren't running for our lives. We knew our baby would be safe.

As Mary and Joseph fled, were they led by angels? Did the Holy Ghost whisper words of comfort and courage to their hearts as they traveled. Did their hearts break for those babes that would die at the hand of the evil King Herod? I know the answer to each of these questions must be yes.

How grateful I am to these brave parents who did as their Father in Heaven commanded. Without hesitation they fled into Egypt and kept the savior safe.

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