NATIVITY STORIES

Wanted to share a few of my nativity pieces with you today. These have been collected over the years and are just a few of the ones I own.

This one of stone is made up of just these pieces. It is one of my favorite because it looks so primitive.

This one is very tiny. I bought it one year as a gift to myself. Each piece is made of solid pewter and the creche is made of a resin material.

This set I have had since before I was married. Mom and Pop bought it when they went on a trip to the Holy Land. It is made of olive wood and the carving is quite intricate.

This little piece was sent to my boys from some missionary friends of ours that lived in Guatemala.

I love this set of nativity boxes! Each one has such beautiful pictures of it. There are 7 of them, and they look lovely next to the tree!

This is, perhaps, the one that is dearest of all to me. This little set is very inexpensive and has been glued back together more times that I can remember. It has been gnawed on…by baby boys and a baby dog. Pieces of it have been carried around in pockets, in school bags, in the dog’s mouth. Pieces have been found under the covers of a boy’s bed, under the bed itself, in the bottom of a toy box, and even in the bathtub, draining with the rest of the toys that made the bath bearable.

It is the set that was bought for Son #1…and passed on to Son #2 and Son #3. It was the first thing to go under our tree every year, and that was its home base throughout the Season. It was set up, always, on an old block of wood. The pieces would not stand up otherwise. It was arranged and rearranged more times than I can even imagine.

It was a set that said, “Play with me. Touch me. Learn from me.” And, they did. They learned the wonderful story, and could tell it easily using the figures as props. They learned that this story was meant to be loved…explored…told and retold.

And, even when the time came that they were too big to play with the figures…they still looked to be sure it was there. Because, under the tree, full of wonderful surprises and gifts wrapped in bright paper and ribbons, was the depiction of the greatest story they would ever learn. The greatest story ever told. The greatest gift they could ever receive.

Fitting it is that this set is modest and simple. That’s the way the Savior came. Fitting that it should be carried into every area of a young boy’s world. For what it represented has become a part of the lives they live every day. Fitting that it has lasted through the years…as the coming of the Christ Child is what gives meaning to the lives we lead.

One year, the baby went missing for several days. I could not find it anywhere. Until I washed a load of blue jeans. When I removed the jeans from the washer to the dryer…there he was…as clean as I had ever seen him. I asked the boys about it, and one of them finally ‘fessed up. “I jes wanted to take Baby Jesus everywhere I go!” Now how do you do anything but say, “Carry Him, Sweetie, carry Him with you every where you go…every day of your life!”

And, here is the lovely Holy Family statue. I gave it to Mom many years go…she gave it back to me in the most special way. It reminds me that love never dies or goes away…it is just passed on from one to another. I think that is exactly what God had in mind when He sent Jesus so long ago. That love and hope and peace and joy that He sent then is just as fresh and relevant today. Because of that little baby, we have hope for an everlasting life. I wish for you this Christmas the peace that only He can give. I wish that you feel His love wrapping all around you. And, I wish you the joy that come from sharing that love with others. God Bless You and Yours!