Mary and Joseph’s Journey

Do you ever think about the trip Mary and Joseph took from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem? It sounds kind of silly, but of course they couldn’t look up the best directions on their map app or stop at McDonalds when they got hungry. They didn’t even know whether there would be anyone waiting for them when they finished their trip! (And we know they couldn’t find a room to sleep in!) In this painting, Joni did a lot of thinking about what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph. Joni wasn’t trying to make a picture of the exact road they took in Israel. Instead, she wanted to help people think about the difficult and dangerous journey Mary and Joseph walked. What do you see in this painting that could be dangerous or difficult? Joni chose to put Mary and Joseph towards the side of the painting so we can see where they’ve been but not what is ahead of them. Why do you think she did this? If you could draw some of the hard things that Mary and Joseph would have to do in front of them on the painting, what things would you draw? For ideas, read Matthew 2:13- 23 and Luke 2:34-40.

–Joni Eareckson Tada