In the Fullness of Time is a series of short stories based on the narrative of Jesus' birth found in the Gospel of Luke. For this series, I have used the English Standard Version as the text upon which these stories are based. Most of the quotes are either paraphrases or direct quotes from the ESV. Part 4 is based on Luke 2:6&7.
The cow shifted back and forth. She was not used to this new man and woman. She positioned herself between the strangers and her young calf. In the next stall, the camels' usual stoic facial expressions and rhythmic chewing were disturbed only when the woman's labor began. The cow stopped shifting and stared intently. Her instincts seemed to link what was unfolding before her eyes with the birth of her calf.
Joseph eyed the staring cow uncomfortably. He was unconvinced the single piece of wood acting as the gate to her stall would hold her if she spooked. The longer he looked, Joseph thought he saw a look of compassion on the face of the cow. "Get ahold of yourself," Joseph mumbled to himself, "the cow isn't paying attention." He watched, feeling helpless as Mary struggled through labor. He'd never witnessed birth, how could he help? Suddenly, a baby was resting in his arms. At that moment, the barn seemed to fade from view. He forgot about the full inns that couldn't or wouldn't make run for a pregnant woman.
He looked into the child's eyes, and his breath left. Those eyes. Eyes that pierced your heart and seemed to play the desires and hurts of your soul across their surface. This was not any child. This child was Jesus. Fully human, fully God.
"How do I announce his arrival?" thought Joseph. Suddenly, the cow let out as melodious a sound as a cow can make.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth til now. Romans 8:22
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