One Moment

If you live near the Princess' house, you might want to try and see the "Living Nativity" put on by Cathedral of Joy. We don't go every year, and you do have to sit through some weird little Christmas plays before getting out to see the nativity, but it is worth it.

We took the princesses out Sunday night to see it, and they were in awe of seeing Mary riding on a real donkey with Joseph along side her, watching the shepherds tending real sheep and donkeys, watching the wisemen come with their camels and gifts, gasping as Herod's soldiers came looking for the baby King. Even the tiniest princess was silent for a moment as we watched how it may have been. I think what moved me the most was thinking on what one gal shared at MOPS last week combined with seeing visually what Jesus' birth night may have been like. She shared how she had been thinking about Mary, and how Mary was just a teenager, and that she may have been mocked and made to feel ashamed because she became pregnant before she was married. Anyway, seeing "Mary" riding that donkey and thinking about how my back aches at the end of the day during pregnancy/labor without cross-country donkey rides, made me ache for her and what she must have felt like that night physically, not to mention emotionally.

For me it was very moving, a welcome reminder in this last frenzied week to contemplate the very real sacrifices that a young girl and her young husband made so that our Lord could be born as it was foretold in Isaiah.

Like I said, if you can, you might try and go, if nothing else for those last 15 minutes out in the cold remembering what Christmas is all about. . .