Christmas is upon us, and I have been thinking about the most incredible true story in our history; the birth of Jesus Christ. I have a lovely Willow Tree Nativity Scene that I put up every year now, so this year I decided that Novella was old enough to be handed down my little tiny one piece nativity scene as her own. It is glass, so giving it to her was special for her because she has had to be very careful with it. This presented the best opportunity to truly share with her about God’s gift of his son to us, here on Earth and how Mary and Joseph were entrusted with him as his earthly parents, about getting to celebrate Jesus’ birth on Christmas day, and how that is what this entire season is about. She has been enjoying her little nativity, so much so that she begged to take it to church this morning so she could share it with her friends, promising to be very careful. We assured her that we believed she could keep it safe, but that we didn’t want another kid to accidentally break it, so we decided it was best to stay home, but she still told her Sunday school teacher all about it! This morning at church was another wonderful experience and realization for me. Aveline decided she needed a nap during service, so I stepped out and rocked her to sleep, came back in and she slept the entirety of the service in my arms. As I listened to the sermon and then sang beautiful songs about Jesus and his birth I rocked my sweet baby, and in that moment I was overcome with emotion as I considered Mary, in the stable with her new baby, the Messiah, the Son of God. Every mother feels love and adoration for her children. I know that the first time I held both of my girls it was an unforseen, unimaginable amount of love that engulfed me. The beauty of this child, this amazing gift from God, being entrusted to raise these children to know and love Christ, to do his work with their own sweet hands, being able to bring them home as my own and raise them. Wow, what a powerful thought and blessing. What a gift… But then there was Mary, a virgin, a relatively young woman, who was looked down upon and judged, hardly anyone believed that her story was true. An incredible man named Joseph, that believed what the Angel said, a man that took her as his wife, preserved her virginity until after Jesus was born, and loved her and Jesus as his very own, even when others were talking and judging. Two single individuals chosen by God, and entrusted with THE MOST IMPORTANT GIFT OF ALL. Talk about an honor. That moment, when you look at and hold your child for the first time. Whether you carried and birthed, or adopted, or any way that your child became your child, the raw emotions I am sure have similarities…. God’s gift to you… I cannot even begin to imagine what Mary felt that day. She had travelled afar, then gave birth to a baby in a little stable. She held this child that was now her own child to raise, but what’s more, he was the Messiah! All the bible says about her emotions in all of this is, “…but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” (Luke 2:19 NLT) some versions of the bible use the word pondered, which I like too. So this morning as I looked down at my beautiful sleeping Aveline, as I sang, “oh come let us adore him”, it took everything in me not to weep as I too, kept these things in my heart and thought about them. Every child is a gift from God. We are just the earthly parents that have been entrusted with the gift to raise them up to know him. God is our father, God is their father. Just as we told Novella this morning with her nativity scene which is pictured below… These are God’s hands, giving us the gift of his son Jesus, he entrusted Mary and Joseph with him, so that he could come to earth, and die on the cross for our sins so that we may be forgiven if we believe in him. That is why we Celebrate Christmas, it is Jesus’ birthday and that is what this entire season is about. And can I just say, it is the coolest thing that she gets so excited about it, and that she is beginning to understand and ask questions. So don’t forget that this season is about way more than the commercialized aspect, gift giving, decorations, Santa, reindeer, etc etc. It is about the most incredible gift that God could have given to us, the birth of a small babe, born of a virgin in a little town called Bethlehem. He is our reason for celebration! Merry Christmas!