Happy Birthday, Jesus!

For as long as I can remember since having children, we've waited until Christmas morning to place baby Jesus in our Nativity. I wanted my children to fully appreciate that we were celebrating the birth of our Savior and to be excited about that moment when He arrived. I didn't want the placing of the Nativity to simply be another decoration we hauled out every year, only to pack away and forget about until the next Christmas season arrived. I wanted it to MEAN something to them. This year--without fanfare--as the rest of the family still slept, I quietly placed our baby Jesus into His "spot" in the stable and felt an overwhelming sense of calm as well as a bit of sadness that we hadn't made a production out of placing Him in the stable. I reflected for a moment and then realized that's exactly how He DID arrive........quietly, while much of the world was still sleeping, in a tiny stable in a tiny town. Whew! Talk about that crazy feeling you get inside when something more powerful than you've ever felt takes over your body! I could almost feel my heart racing! I stared for a moment at that tiny porcelain baby staring back at me from His tiny porcelain manger, and for a brief moment I even thought, "His eyes should be closed; He's supposed to be sleeping in the manger." And the next moment, I realized that His eyes had always been on me, on us! What a beautiful, beautiful Birthday Boy! I closed my eyes and thanked our God for the Son He so generously gave so that we might be saved from ourselves and find shelter from all our storms. I thanked Him again for the beautiful family He has blessed me with and for the miracle He gave us nearly four years ago in sparing our Jonathon. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Merry Christmas, Everyone! I hope that your Christmas has been as blessed as ours.......

Still grateful for your prayers,
Mary