The first night that it was dropped off, I was in awe. I received a beautiful backdrop and Mary. I probably read the quote on Mary at least on eight different occasions. The words were powerful, they so perfectly portrayed Mary and what a wonderful, strong, loving and righteous woman that she was. After receiving this glorious nativity piece, my thoughts turned to Mary so often. As struggles hit me that next day, I thought of her, the obstacles she had to overcome and the amount of faith that she had to carry her thru all her mortal trials. As I held Mary, I felt strength that I too could keep going, keep enduring and have complete faith that my Savior would carry me through.
The next day, Joseph arrived and we read anxiously about him. With each passing day more pieces showed up with more beautiful quotes and scriptures about that beautiful night that our Savior was born.
I found myself getting just as excited about the beautiful words to be read, as I did about the beautiful nativity pieces that were filling our table one by one. I caught Hayden on numerous occasions gently holding the figures, looking at them, reading the words, and carefully rearranging the scene.
Each morning Hayden would ask if today was the baby Jesus would show up. We told him that we guessed he would come on Christmas Eve. But, Hayden kept waiting. Each time he opened the door, he hoped he would find the precious Christ child there.
As more and more pieces showed up, we talked more and more about the events surrounding that beautiful night. We talked of Mary and what it must have been like to be accused of being unholy when indeed she always kept herself pure. The courage and trust that Joseph had to believe Mary and stand by her side, even when they both were being judged. We talked of the faith of the lonely shepherds and what it must have felt like to see and hear angels singing and have the faith to go to the baby Jesus. We talked of the wise men and their decision not to tell King Herod of the birth of the Savior. We talked about what the manger must have been like on that beautiful night. We talked of the brightness of the star. We asked ourselves questions such as, "Do we have the faith to follow the star like the wise men? Or, do we find room for the Savior in our hearts and bring the Savior in or keep him in the distance in the manger?"
Because of this beautiful gift, our hearts were turned to the events of that beautiful and holy night that our Savior was born on this earth. We talked of the Christ child, we were in awe of the faithfulness of the shepherds, the determination of the wise men, the endurance of Joseph and the strength of Mary.
We decided we wanted to have more of these wonderful qualities and sat and made a list of the gifts that we would give our Savior this year. We would give Him our hearts completely. No holding back, no hesitation, just turning our lives over to the Savior and trusting Him that He can do a better job than we can.
Oh what a beautiful gift. What a precious gift to behold. We are so grateful not only for the absolutely gorgeous nativity set that was given, but for all the talks that it sparked, all the faith it renewed, all the love that we felt and the gratitude in our hearts.
Thank you for giving us the gift of talking of the Christ child and our Savior and Redeemer each and every day during the month of December. There are no words to express the gratitude that is deep in my heart. Please know we will always cherish this kindness. It will be a memory that is rekindled and sparked each year as we set up this beautiful nativity.
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