But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12
My favorite place at Christmas is sitting in front of the fire in our family room. Every Christmas, we transform the family room. We decorate the tree, put out the nativity scene, and if I have the energy, we erect a village complete with a town hall, bank, bakery, police department, post office and so much more. We even have little people hustling and bustling in their little town. My grandson’s love looking (and touching) every single piece! My favorite part though, is transforming the fireplace. I add garland and greenery, ornaments, and of course hang up the stockings… Yes… with care!
I take the time each year to decorate the family room and especially the fireplace because I didn’t have great Christmases growing up and I wanted my daughter to have beautiful happy memories as she grew.
Merisa is 25 now but she still tells me that the stocking is her favorite part of Christmas, so of course even though she is a young woman now, I still fill her stocking every year.
One of my favorite memories of Christmas when Merisa was very little, 3, 4, 5 years old… was how much she loved looking at and playing with my porcelain nativity scene (yikes!) She especially loved the baby Jesus. She was fascinated with Him… so little, so vulnerable, so precious.
One year, when Merisa was about seven years old, baby Jesus disappeared. He was simply gone. Vanished. The Nativity Scene was all put together, just as I’d displayed it… the animals just outside the stable; the wise men with their gifts, just as I’d left them; A shepherd boy with his sheep; Mary, inside kneeling; and Joseph with his staff, looking down at where the baby Jesus should have been. Except He wasn’t. I asked Merisa if she had taken Him to play and she said she had not. I questioned her for days but she promised she did not have the baby Jesus nor did she know where He was. I was baffled, because somehow I believed her.
On Christmas morning, baby Jesus was there, in His spot in the manger between Mary and Joseph. He was back! In all His glory…
I asked Merisa if she had put Him there. She swears… to this day… she had not. Bruce promises he hadn’t either. I can’t explain this mystery, but it’s a sweet story that makes me smile to this day. It felt like a gift from God.
Every year when I put out the Nativity Scene, next to my decorated fireplace, I think about it and wonder if baby Jesus will go rogue again, only to appear Christmas morning. So far He has not… but I secretly hope for this little gift again.
I secretly hope for this because this event gives me hope… for I know that Jesus really was born to bridge the gap between us and God. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. This too is a mystery to me. How the God of the universe loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son that we might be saved. God gave us the gift of Jesus on Christmas morning… all we have to do is believe and accept His precious gift.