Birds sang outside as the last strains of daylight faded. Miryam cleaned the last of the dishes. The chore dragged on. It felt as though she had been washing for years. She listened as the family and Yosef chattered and giggled. She longed to join in the lively conversations.
"Then I hauled the biggest stone in the city," Yosef said. "I looked so strange. First I tried to carry it. Then I got a rope and tried to drag it. All of the other carpenters talked about it for months."
"How did you finally get it to the house you were building?" Malachi asked.
"My friend Jonah came by. You see, he works for the Romans. He took one of their carts, and we loaded the boulder onto the cart."
"That's great," Silas, Miryam's father, said. "Now, it is time for the children to head off to bed."
"Awww!" All four children whined.
"Can't we listen to one more story?" Chaya whined.
"No," Jochobed, their mother, said. "You heard your father."
"Actually, I had better leave," Yosef said. "I have my own house to build before I marry Miryam."
"How soon will it be done?" Jochobed asked.
"Only a month or so," Yosef assured her.
"Miryam!" Silas called. "Yosef is leaving!"
Miryam put the last of the dishes on the shelf and ran to the living area.
"Shalom, Yosef!" She called.
"Lehitraot [see you later]!"
The evening turned into night. Darkness crept in. Miryam lay awake on her sleeping mat. Light flashed outside her window. She peered out of her window. Another glimmer of light appeared behind her.
"What is going on?" She whispered.
"Shalom, favored one!" An echoing, deep voice greeted her.
She turned around, and a shining man in green armor and silver hair waited.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
"Do not be afraid, Miryam. You have found favor with Adonai. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. His name will be Yeshua. He will be called the son of the Most High. Adonai will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will rule over Israel forever. His kingdom will be eternal."
"I've never slept with a man," she said.
"Ruach HaKodesh will overshadow you. The power of the Most High will come upon you. Your relative Elisheva has conceived in her old age. She was barren. Now she is six months pregnant. Nothing is impossible with Adonai."
Miryam bowed down and answered, "Amen to what you have said."
She rose to her feet.
"When will this happen?" She asked. "Has it happened already?"
"Tomorrow begins the Festival of Lights," the angel said. "It will happen at that time."