About fourteen years later…

I stared at Jesus, not able to believe what he just said. "Wait, let me get this right. You, the Son of God, want to go to your cousin John to be baptized? Shouldn't you be the one baptizing him?"

Jesus was firm. "It is fitting to fulfil all righteousness."

I blinked in confusion, but I had grown to trust him even when his own parents didn't. And after growing up with him, I was, as far as I knew, the first to believe he was the Son of God. You do not disobey the Son of God.

"Okay. So, when do we leave?"

Jesus smiled. "If only everyone were as trusting as you, Judith! We leave immediately."

I heard John before I saw him, and that was quite impressive considering the distance we still had to go to reach the banks of the Jordan.

"I indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but he who is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire!"

I glanced at Jesus. "Is that true?"

He only murmured, "The voice of one crying out in the desert, 'Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.'"

I stopped short. "That's from Isaiah the prophet."

Jesus nodded. "And many other things about me. Come, Judith. Let's see my cousin."

John was not at all what I had expected. He stood in the middle of the Jordan dressed in camel hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His hair was long and unruly, and his skin tan and chapped from the sun. He appeared to be either crazy or passionate, and I was fixed on the latter when he suddenly stopped short and stared at us. Or rather, Jesus.

"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Jesus took off his head cloth and handed it and his staff to me. "Could you hold this for a moment?"

I took them without a word, and watched Jesus wade into the water.

John started protesting. "I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?"

"Permit it to be so now," Jesus replied, "for it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness."

The same answer he had given to me.

I watched, transfixed with the rest of the people on the shore, as Jesus was baptized, but I blinked in amazement. When he came up from the water, the skies opened up above him, and a dazzling light shone from above. My eyes widened as I saw a pure, white dove float down, its feathery wings flapping gently as it alighted on Jesus. I tell you, the very spirit of God was in that dove.

I jumped, startled, as voice sounded from heaven, a strong, powerful voice but full of kindness. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

If I hadn't been convinced beforehand that Jesus was the Son of God, I was right then and there.

After Jesus, I set down his things and went into the water to be baptized, together with a couple others. I was ducked into the water, and as I rose, washed from my sins with my repentance, nothing significant happened. Except I heard a voice in my head, the same one that had spoken just a moment earlier. The voice of God.

Though crippled in your physical body, you have been given a special gift, Judith daughter of Josiah, to converse directly with my son. Use this gift wisely.

I didn't understand. How was I crippled? But God did not answer me. At least, not until many years to come.

Jesus seemed very impatient, and that night after supper, as we sat by a fire, he told me what he was going to do next.

"My baptism is the start of my mission, Judith. I am the Son of God, but I am still a man. I need wisdom, and guidance from the Lord."

I frowned. "What do you plan to do?"

He looked me in the eye. "I am going into the desert, to pray. God is calling me there. I may not come back in a long time."

I nodded. "Well, I'm certainly not going to stop you. When are we going?"

Jesus pursed his lips. "I am going alone, Judith."

I stared at him. "A-alone? Then what am I to do? How am I to take care of myself?"

"You must trust in God to provide."

It was the hardest thing I'd ever done, but I obeyed him. The next morning, he allowed me to accompany him as far as the edge of the wilderness.

"I am sorry to leave you, but this must be done," he told me sincerely.

I nodded. "Do what God calls you to do."

Jesus smiled, and hugged me good-bye. "May God watch over you, Judith."

Then he started off.

I watched him go with a heavy heart until he disappeared beyond the horizon. Then I choked back tears. This was the first time I was separated from Jesus, and I wasn't sure if I could handle it.

I turned slowly, unsure of my path ahead of me, when I heard the voice of God in my head again.

Follow him and watch. This is your time too.

I blinked, wondering if he had really just said what I thought he had said.

Well, are you going or not?

Then I took off into the desert with no hesitation, running at a dangerously fast speed.

It was no more than an hour before I realized, panting heavily, that I was utterly lost.

I twirled around frantically in a circle, then collapsed onto the ground on my knees.

"Oh, God," I prayed, "I trust in you. I don't have food, or water, and I need your help to survive."

There was no voice this time, no sign, but I slowly raised myself to my feet and started stumbling ahead. For I would surely die if I stayed in one place, but if I continued on, I might have a chance.

I wandered around in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. I felt like my ancestors, only in my case, I had no Moses to guide me, and certainly no pillar of cloud by day or a pillar of fire by night. I always had a certain fear about the desert, for its heat and sun had killed my father. But I grew so weary and hungry and thirsty that I only thought of food and water.

I prayed constantly that I would find Jesus, or at least his footprints, but to no avail. It was as if the desert wind had purposely swept away any traces of my friend.

Still, I somehow managed to go on, one foot in front of the other. Though it was very hard, I trusted in God to take care of me. Maybe, like my father, he would allow me to die for some greater good. My spirits never grew low, and I felt, sometimes in the cold of night, a presence of a heavenly being beside me. It was not God, nor Jesus, but something else. Maybe an angel.

I heard that angel's voice sometimes. Trust in the Lord, she would whisper. This trial will test your faith and trust in Him.

And I would always imagine Jesus in front of me, his laughing eyes and friendly smile, since he was a child to a grown man. Strangely, that face always stayed quite the same.

But on the forty first day, something felt different. The angel was gone. I found it hard to imagine Jesus' face. The optimistic, happy spirit that I once had in spite of the circumstances began to wane. I felt weighed down, burdened, and for the first time, I fell onto the sand. No one was there to lift me up.

"God, please come," I pleaded. "Please send the angel back. She cheered up, gave me hope."

He didn't answer. I didn't dare cry for fear of losing water, but I wanted to nonetheless. Had God forsaken me?

"And yet you still believe in him," a voice suddenly broke into my thoughts.

I lifted my head in surprise, and saw a man dressed in black cloths standing next to a camel. He held a staff, and his camel looked weary and dusty, like they had been traveling for days. But the man's skin was pale, paler than I have ever seen, and his dark eyes glimmered like a rain cloud.

"W-who are you?" I managed through cracked lips. I didn't remember them being that dry, or my throat so hoarse, but I suddenly had a great need for water.

The man stepped forward, shaking his head. "You poor woman. What are you doing in a desert all alone, with no fresh, warm bread, or cold, smooth water, or a soft bed with silk blankets at night?"

My mouth had begun to water at the mention of food and water, and my aching body yearned for the bed. "G-God told me t-to follow J-Jesus."

The man smiled. "Hmm. Do you think your God is a kind, loving God?"

I managed a nod.

"Then why do you suppose he sent you out for forty days and nights with no shelter, no food, no water, and not even a map! How does he expect you to find Jesus? And of course he knew you would get lost. Did you send you out purposely to get lost?"

I was too tired to even ask him how he knew I had been in the desert for forty days. "T-Trust," was all I could say.

The man snorted. "Trust in a God who sends you out to be killed. No. One must trust in opportunity, what comes their way to survive. Tell you what. You seem like a nice, pretty, albeit misused young woman. You come along with me, and I'll give you the freshest water you have ever tasted to soothe your parched throat. It'll wash over your tongue like the wind on a warm day. Then I'll give you a thick slice of warm bread, slathered in the sweetest honey to fill your empty stomach. Then, while we travel to Egypt to pick up goods – I'm a merchant, you see – you can rest on my camel with clean, cool blankets and a nice cover to shield you from the sun's blistering rays. Hmm? All you have to do is take this flask, and you'll have the water and everything else right away."

He held out a flask, literally dripping with water. I knew it was full, and I imagined how refreshing it would be. All I had to do was take it, and he would take care of me, and even bring me to Egypt!

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention," the merchant added. "I know of a rich man in Egypt who has a son who would be just right for you. Very handsome and wealthy young man. I'm sure he would take a liking to a beautiful, intelligent woman like yourself."

The desire, I must admit, was a great one. I needed a husband, to take care of me, and a son to take care of me when I was old. A rich man would be perfect, and I would have no more worries about where to live or what work to do or how to find food.

"Well?" the man prodded. "Are you going to take the water or not? I have a long journey to make, and I'm sure I will come upon another young lady who will meet the description. If you won't accept it, I need to get going."

I struggled to lift my head, and the man leaned forward eagerly, but he held the flask just out of arm's reach. If I wanted it, I would have to make an effort to get it.

But as I extended my arm, the words of Jesus suddenly echoed in my head from fourteen years ago.

"I'll take care of you, Judith. Don't worry. You'll always have me."

Hadn't he looked after me for all my life? Took care of my needs when even Mary and Joseph couldn't see them? And the Scriptures said that Jews must not marry Gentiles. That's what caused the Samaritans to exist in the first place.

How could I go against the Holy Scriptures? How could I disobey his Father who told me to find Jesus? How could I value this stranger over someone who loved me so much?

I leaned back against the sand. "N-no, I-I must have f-faith," I whispered hoarsely.

The man raised an eyebrow, and stuck the flask in his pocket. "That kind of spirit will get yourself killed." He shrugged. "Oh well. At least I tried."

The man took the rope from his camel and began walking away, but it was only a moment before he suddenly turned back.

"Oh, and Judith?" he called. "If you ever see Jesus again, ask him if he's hiding something from you. It's a curse that he's not telling you."

I frowned, and struggled to my feet. It only took a few minutes for me to stand, but when I did, the man and his camel were nowhere to be seen. No footprints, nothing.

That was strange, I thought.

But suddenly I was overwhelmed with a feeling of absolute peace, peace and joy. I was no longer exhausted, or hungry, or thirsty. I felt strong, healthy, and my legs were yearning to dance. It was as if I had been…born anew.

"You did well, Judith," a voice told me.

I whirled around to face it, and I saw, for the first time, the angel that had been watching over me. She didn't look very special, at least not how Mary described the angel Gabriel. She was dressed in a white robe with no head covering over her long brown hair, but her eyes shone with the light that only comes from one who has seen and known God. How did I know that? Jesus had the same light.

The angel smiled. "God will bless you, Judith. If you resist the devil, he will flee from you."

I widened my eyes. "That was the devil?"

The angel nodded slightly. "But beware. He prowls like a lion, waiting to devour you. If you let your guard down for one moment, he will come again to tempt you. Maybe not in the same shape or form, but he will come once more."

I was struck speechless, but she smiled again. "Now, however, is a time for joy! You have triumphed against the evil one. Behold, the one you have been searching for."

I turned back around, and I saw Jesus walking towards me, the same smile on his face that had kept me going during my journey. I turned to the angel to thank her, but she was gone. So, together with Jesus, I thanked God instead.

A/N: Sorry it took me awhile to update! I have to do more research than I thought, and this is something that I don't write. God inspires me, and then I write (if you aren't Christian, you'll find that hard to believe...but trust me, it's true.) So I'd appreciate your prayers, and of course I'm very grateful for all of your support!

I'll be out of town for a week, so probably no updating, but I'll post the next chapter as soon as I finish the research, and the writing. Thank you so much for reading!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year everyone!