Mary probably didn’t have a baby book to write in.  Most of her days as a young mom were undoubtedly filled with washing clothes, changing diapers, cuddling bruised children, comforting those who had been bullied, making meals, clothing and teaching her kiddos about God and His promises.

As a young mother myself, I can remember those days.  The good old baby book was almost full when my firstborn came into the world. I recorded weight and length, first steps, first words, smiles and every little detail went into that book.  That was for the first few months.  As time went by, I had tucked it away and put my focus on the child instead.  With each child, the events of early childhood became less and less and by the time my last child came, I think all that remained was a birth picture and a footprint.

Somewhere in between birth and adulthood, the memories get stowed away in the recesses of your mind.  You may not write each one down, but those little things come to surface when you least expect them.  The funny things they said and did – the pride you had when they scored a basket that won the game – your anxious moments when they were late in getting home.

We really don’t know much about Jesus life between His visit to the temple when He was twelve until he emerges at the age of thirty to begin the work He was sent to do.  What was going on during that time?  Our curiosity about those years can often get in the way of Jesus true mission.

We may expect the Savior of the World getting involved in the politics of the day – to be preparing to be an earthly King – consuming His days with concern over the poverty that surrounded Him.  He had to  work hard and sweat, but the fact that we don’t know what was going on is really of no benefit for us.

The Bible tells us in Luke 1:80, “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.”

He grew – not only in stature, but in strength of spirit.  His wilderness could have been a physical wilderness or His time of spiritual endurance – preparing Him for what lay ahead.  The fact that He’s God, didn’t require any of that, but as a man, He had to go through the same things we experience every day.  He laughed, He comforted others, He listened, counseled, wept, felt pain, grief and sadness.

While this interlude of eighteen years occurred, Mary pondered all these things in her heart and would bring them to remembrance as her firstborn made His way to Golgotha