January 2, 2018
Dear Grace,
One of my greatest delights this season has been sharing the Christmas story with you. At 27 months (now almost 28), you are old
enough to grasp at least parts of his beloved story about God becoming human,
and coming to us as a baby on Christmas night. If you don’t yet understand the
incarnation itself (and who does??), you at least are completely smitten with
the story of baby Jesus.
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| Grace's nativity (sans wise men) |
I bought a little nativity made of cloth for you to play
with. It’s got all the major players: the holy family, of course, and a manger,
plus a shepherd, a sheep, a donkey, a cow, and three wise men, all in a stable
with a star and an angel attached. You immediately fell in love with it. Of
course, you promptly lost Jesus, and asked about him for days. When I found him
and returned him to you, you exclaimed, “Baby Jesus!” and then, “You found
him!” You ran to fetch his little manger and placed him tenderly inside,
announcing, “Jesus in the bed.” This was not only incredibly dear, but made for
a great Christmas sermon illustration – thanks!
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| Monkey (Jesus) in the "manger" (aka diaper bin) |
Now, you always have your eye out for baby Jesus. You notice
him wherever you catch a glimpse of a nativity. And honestly, it doesn’t much
matter if you can see a portrayal of this ancient and beloved story, because
you will happily act it out yourself. “I’m baby Jesus,” you state matter-of-factly, and then
point to each member of the family assigning parts: “Mommy is Mary, Daddy is
Joseph, and Isaac is a shepherd.” Sometimes daddy and I are both shepherds, and
you are Mary and Isaac is Joseph, and the part of Jesus is played by most often
your blue monkey, but sometimes another friend. Whatever you have assigned, you
get very indignant if we don’t call people by their proper role. When I am
Mary, you call out to me, “Hey Mary!” and if I don’t respond with, “Yes,
Jesus?” then you correct me. Tonight I put you to bed, after you had told me I
was Mary and you were Jesus, and when I said, “Good night Grace Victoria,” you
said, “I’m not Gracie. I’m Jesus.” So I said, “Good night, baby Jesus,” and you
were very happy with that.
You received a beautiful children’s Bible for Christmas, and
you beg for me to read stories to you about Jesus. You love all the ones with
Jesus or Mary in them, and also the one about Jesus with the little children.
Oh how I adore when I say, “Which story should I read?” and you say, “Jesus!”
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| The most elaborate "manger" |
As charming as is your ongoing drama featuring the Rehbaum
Players, my favorite thing of all is seeing how in love you are with Jesus. You
love to build him a manger with your blocks. You have built several elaborate
mangers for him. You cradle your monkey, place her in a basket, the lid of a box, or the empty diaper bin, and sing her Away in a Manger, which I recognize by a few key lines: “No
‘frying’ Jesus… I love you, oh Jesus… head on the hay…” Each time you sing, you
get a few more of the words, and my heart melts a little more. Then at bedtime,
when I ask what you’d like me to sing, you request, “Jesus no fry,” and I sing
you Away in a Manger while I cradle “Jesus.” Sometimes you just sit back and
listen, perfectly content, and sometimes you try very hard to sing along with
me, learning the words. Either way, I love it.
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| Another of Jesus' mangers, which has several moving parts you demonstrated. |
I love all of this as your mom, of course. But I also love it so much as a pastor. Watching you fall in love with baby Jesus has made me fall in love with him and with the story of his birth all over again. I can’t think of any other story that has such mystery, excitement, and accessibility for children and adults alike, plus countless artistic, poetic, and musical portrayals. Divine love, Jesus, and the arts – all my favorite things! You hear songs with words you know and love from the story – angels, shepherds, stars – and delight in your discovery. (You came into the kitchen the other day grinning and singing, “Glo-o-o-o-ria!” from Angels We Have Heard On High. Be still my heart!) You recognize the characters even in very different portrayals, perhaps holding one piece beside another and announcing, “Same!” or, “That’s Mary, and that’s Mary!” There are so many connections to be made – it is the perfect story to draw in a two year old, who is relishing in discovering how the world works by making connections in it. Watching it happen with my own daughter makes me marvel once again this this is how our God would choose to come to us: in a way that enchants children and mystifies sages, that brings as much joy and splendor as it does fear and astonishment, that somehow draws into one amazing story animal sounds, angel songs, the lowly and the mighty, the powerless and the powerful, a refugee family, and above all, a new baby. Who doesn’t love a good birth story? And this one is the very best!
Thank you, Grace, for helping me fall in love with Jesus all
over again!
Love,
Mom/Mary/Shepherd
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