One of my friends had a very
thought-provoking facebook post the other day.
Gina said, “My kids always arrange the nativity with
all the people and animals crowded together, backs to us, huddled in close to
baby Jesus. I, of course, always feel
the need to spread everyone out nice and even...facing us on display. What a lesson I have learned from my littles
tonight! I've got it all wrong. May I please be more like my
children...crowded and huddled close to baby Jesus!”
After reading her inspirational post, I
was so curious as to how my own four-year-old would “arrange” our nativity. So,
without any cues, I asked her to set it out under our Christmas tree. Whaddya know?! She set it out the exact same way as Gina’s
children! Joseph and Mary were standing
close to baby Jesus – Mary at His head and Joseph at His feet. The angels stood at the left and right of the
stable, looking toward our Lord. The
kings, shepherds, and animals were all within inches of our Savior, just
soaking in His every move. How about
THAT?!
Children are incredible, aren’t they? They hear more than they let on and they are
wise beyond their years. Most
importantly, they know what love is and exactly where to find it. Facing the manger. That’s where.
I found a few great quotes about children
that I want to share:
- Children
are likely to live up to what you believe of them. - Lady Bird Johnson
- While
we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what
life is all about. - Angela
Schwindt
- Live
so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of
you. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
- If you
want your children to improve, let them overhear the nice things you say
about them to others. - Dr.
Haim Ginott
- Children
are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called, ”All the
things that could go wrong.” - Marianne
Williamson
- Heaven
must be really small, because I can see it in my Mom’s eyes. – Author Unknown
- What a
child doesn’t receive, she can seldom later give. – P.D.
James
- If we
wish to be in our children’s memories tomorrow, we have to spend some time
in their life today. To connect
with them, we need to disconnect from distractions. – Author Unknown
Not long after I read Gina’s post, I ran
across another friend’s words of wisdom.
Rebecca has six
beautiful children and this is what she said:
“I always get asked, ’How do you do
it?’ WELL, here goes…I'm always tired,
but I keep going EVERY day. My house is
never clean or uncluttered. I don't want
to spend the money on a maid when I am ‘physically’ capable of doing it
myself. My mind is always running in
about a hundred different directions, even when I lay down at night. I over think everything and am rarely on time
anywhere. I feel like my bedroom looks
like a Laundromat exploded. I rarely
spend money on myself because I feel like my kids need it more.”
“But, at the end of the day, with my
sleeping baby in my arms, there is no greater feeling. YES, we are outnumbered, but in WHAT? We are outnumbered by the little people who
love us back each day and THAT is how I do it.
I am really grateful for all these things because a dirty, cluttered
house means I have a house. And, clothes
everywhere means we have stuff to wear.”
I loved reading this honest reflection from a mom
with a large family. One of Bill Keane’s quotes comes to mind
regarding my friend, Rebecca: "How
do you divide your love among your children?" And the mother replied,
"I don't divide my love - I multiply it."
Ah…children. A
child can teach so much, especially the Christ Child lying in the hay. If we could
just remember that our peace will come while facing the manger, with all of
life’s distractions at our back.
Speaking of peace…I was looking for some among my own
three children last weekend. To avoid an overdose of cabin fever, I took
them bowling. We played two rounds – one
with bumpers and one without. What an
interesting difference in those two games.
The first game (without bumpers) was extremely frustrating
for them. As hard as they tried to focus and aim that
ball right down the middle, their ball was inevitably sucked into the gutter
more times than not. Frame after frame
this happened and they were flustered.
They wanted me to bowl the first game, so we couldn’t use the
bumpers. For the second game, they were
like, Momma who? The bumpers went up and
joy followed. They were successful. They
were smiling. They were enjoying what
the game had to offer.
Hmmm…crazy enough, the bumpers reminded me of what Jesus
can offer. When we look love in the eyes as we are
facing the manger, we can’t help but smile.
We will be better able to enjoy what this life has to offer if we have
Him to keep us out of life’s gutters. Like
the bumpers, Jesus is there to keep us in line and headed in the right
direction. Who knew a simple game of
bowling could offer so much insight?!
It’s obvious to me that many good people out there
know about facing the manger. My friend, Jennifer, was fairly certain that
she had lost her credit card while filling up with gas in Houston
Once I heard about her predicament, I immediately
prayed that whoever found that card would find it in their heart to turn it in. With so many
people desperately needing money during the holidays, I can imagine how
tempting it could be for someone to just keep it. I also asked Saint Anthony (patron saint of finding lost articles)
for help. “Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony,
please come around. Something is lost
and must be found.” I felt confident and
hopeful that her card would be found.
After a long night of waiting and wondering, Jennifer
was proud to report the next morning, “Thank you, Lord! Some angel turned in my credit card at the
store.” That’s right.
Angels ARE among us and they can even be found in a stranger’s kind
gesture. We can also catch a glimpse of baby
Jesus’ love through our children. It
seems that we can conquer most anything that is thrown our way, as long as we’re
facing the manger.
And, while facing the manger, “Audience of One,” by Big
Daddy Weave keeps playing in my mind. The lyrics that really stand out for me are: “So what could I bring to honor your Majesty? What song could I sing that
would move the heart of royalty? When
all that I have is this life that You’ve given me. So, Lord, let me live for You, my song with
humility.” Crank up the volume…I think
you’ll love it as much as I do.
In closing, I want to thank you, dear sweet children,
for the reminder that love is found in a lowly manger. A child shall
indeed lead us…
Have a wonderful
week, Sunshines!
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