God With Us

Red, orange, green, and blue stars twinkle in the corner of our living room. Below them is a weather beaten shed with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, arms outstretched, in his manger. Mary takes Jesus out and snuggles with him. He's just way too cold, as his swaddling clothes don't quite fit. Joseph wraps his jacket around the three of them and the animals scoot in closer for a peek. From somewhere, a shepherd produces a flute and begins to play. Mary's eyes droop and Joseph yawns. Baby Jesus is fast asleep. The wise men are in route a little ways away from the stable. It is going to take them a couple years to figure out just where he is. Western Barbie and a handful of my brother's GI Joes are dying for a visit too, along with Barbie's cat. They don't dare. Not that I've exactly been TOLD not to play with it, but there is just an unspoken knowledge that the manger scene is for looks only. So Barbie doesn't ask Mary to hold the baby, and the Joes don't offer protective services from King Herod, even though they'd sure like too. Instead, they whisper amongst themselves, before getting stuffed haphazardly under a couch cushion. The stars are just tree lights. Jesus is back in the manger while Joseph and Mary look on at a distance. Here comes Marmie to tuck me in. I have the Christmas time honor of sleeping on the couch: my favorite goodnight spot this time of year. I'll keep this spot during this season until I'm grown and out of the house. (Minus the Barbie!)

The years pass by like blowing pages. Lucas, Seth, Micah, and I watch via computer as Mr. Bean rescues baby Jesus from a dinosaur and the Daleks, then puts the family up in a Barbie house for the night. I laugh. Hard. Lucas, Seth, and Micah think I'm nuts. Well, maybe just a little, but I know what Mr. Bean feels like.

Back to reality, I think about the way things truly were: a poor couple just starting out, a baby who was Emmanuel, "God with us." He didn't need the rescuing. He came to be the rescuer.

Now all is quiet in the house. Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus snuggle in the stable on our mantle, while red, orange, green, and blue stars twinkle in the corner of our living room.