It was the first Christmas after September 11th, when the hearts of all humanity were broken and tender. We knew the world had changed and would never really be the same, but many of us were trying to reach back to our old lives, to recreate something familiar, something comforting. Something to remind us of how we used to be.

Putting up decorations, mostly in a half-hearted fashion, I came across a small figure of Saint Joseph. A member of a much loved and slightly chipped nativity set that went up each December, his worn face caught my eye. We looked at each other and I thought:

Why is it no one pays much attention to you, Joseph? You had so much on your shoulders, so much to worry about. A young wife about to have her first child in a strange and crowded city, no one to help you, not even a place to stay. How did you do it? Without your loving protection, Jesus might never have been born. You chose out of the goodness of your heart to be this baby’s father.

Then a few minutes later I had another thought, one that had never occurred to me before:

How incredible that God would choose to create a family for the Savior of the Universe with two different types of parents; a young mother who gave birth AND an adoptive father. A family by birth and adoption. Jesus could have come to be with us in so many different ways, but He wanted THIS particular family to be His. And in this particular way.

The idea resonated deeply. Our own children came to us through birth and adoption. The family of Jesus was created by birth and adoption. Excited by this revelation, my next thought became: There must be a wonderful book somewhere out there about Joseph to share with my kids, I will have to find it.
Later, after exhausting all internet and bookstore possibilities, I finally realized the book I was hoping to discover did not exist. Several wonderful books about Joseph were available, but none really explored the idea of how he became a father in a most unexpected way, a father by adoption. What to do? Am I going to have to write one myself, I laughed?

The Idea persisted.

God was pressing into my heart I should create a book about Joseph. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I am not a writer, I make paintings and drawings and love all kinds of art. Thank you for giving me that passion, but I am not really a word oriented person.

God: You could make a book about Joseph.

Me: No, no, with all due respect, I think you are asking the wrong person. I am a actually a visual thinker.

God: I have endless ways to help you.

Me: But there are so many experienced writers who could do this. Do you remember I used to doze off in English just waiting for the bell to ring so I could dash off to Art class?

God: I’m not giving up on you. You can do this.

And so it went.

Maybe it was the post 9-11 time of being more spiritually aware, but I know I was listening in a more open way than ever before. My thoughts became notes, drawings and paintings coupled with more and more research and slowly The Idea was transforming into something that vaguely looked like……. a children’s book about Joseph.