Away in the Manger

There is always a great sense of accomplishment when you teach your child something, and they retain that knowledge. It's like you feel successful as a parent, even if only for a short moment in time.


We are Christians and celebrate Christmas, as you all know. I have talked with Alayna and Lilly about how Christmas is about giving to others, showing love, kindness and compassion. But I also talk to them about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate-Jesus' birth, on that first Christmas so many years ago. We have read the Bible stories and sang the songs over and over again. When you ask Lilly why we celebrate Christmas, she answers, "Because we want to! And it's Jesus' birthday!"


I have been looking for a nativity set for a few years now. It's something that I'm very picky about, probably because my mom has a beautiful set that I always loved to help her set up. This year I finally found one that I not only liked, but was within my price range. It was delivered yesterday and between Alayna and I, I don't know who was more excited. We carefully took each piece out of it's wrapping, placing them in 100 different spots on the table until we found just the right place. Then we called Lilly upstairs to look (she was playing on the computer) and I told them the story again, pointing out who everyone was. Now, I would like to keep Baby Jesus out of the nativity until Christmas Eve, but the girls would have no such thing. For one thing, the baby is attached to the manger. For another, they just wanted to look and stare at it as a complete set. So I let him lay and we went about our night.


This morning, I came into the living room to see Lilly staring at the nativity scene, her stuffed dog Sunny in her arms. "Mom," she said, "I told Sunny no touch." I nodded and went about folding my load of laundry. I was listening to Lilly as she showed Sunny who everyone was.


"That's Baby Jesus, it's his birthday. That's his mommy, Mary. That's the angel, and that's his Daddy, Joseph. This is a sheep, that's a camel and those are kings. OKay?" She continued to look at the nativity scene for another minute or so, then came running to my side.


"Mom! It's just like the song!" When I asked what she meant, she took my hand and pulled me to the nativity scene, pointing at Baby Jesus. "Look, it's just like the song! Baby Jesus is asleep in the hay!"