Christmas Through the Eyes of...

Over the years I have collected several different Christmas decorations, but one of my favorites by far is a piece I added last year… our “Little People” Nativity set.  It has been a fun way to see Christmas through the eyes of a child.  I love watching (a) play with all the different nativity characters.  He will hug baby Jesus (he has also tried to eat him on occasion), he will show you all the animals one by one, and he LOVES the fact that the stable plays “Away in a Manger.”  There is an angel who is supposed to stand on top of the stable and be the “singer” of the song.  But for some reason (a) is obsessed with changing out who is standing on top of the stable, I have laughed and commented to (A) so many times about how frequently it changes that I started documenting it with some pictures last week.  Often there is a Magi holding his gift as he stands atop the stable, other times it is one of the donkeys or the cow (who also resembles a deer), sometimes it is the sheep, I have seen Mary up there, and once even Baby Jesus himself was the stable topper.  I have not figured out if (a) has a reasoning behind changing the characters out, or if it is just the fun of the playtime.  Either way, I love watching it and always get a giggle out of who is one top when I walk by. 

It does make me think though, the perspective of the Christmas story really changes based on whose eyes you are looking through.  Based on the picture from the box, the angel is who is supposed to stand on the top of the stable, the angels where the messengers who got to share the “good news, of great joy.”  I can’t even imagine that excitement! I remember how we felt the day (a) was born when we were able to share the much-anticipated news that he had arrived.  There was so much joy it was nearly overwhelming, and while I know all his grandparents felt like they had waited thousands of years for a baby, it was really only a 9 year wait.  But Jesus…. Literally THOUSANDS of years mankind had waited for the birth of the Messiah.  Getting to share the much-anticipated news that he had arrived must have been incredible. 

And then there were the shepherds.  I’m sure being a shepherd wasn’t the most noble of professions in those days.  They lived in the fields keeping watch over the sheep, probably smelling somewhat like the sheep, and were probably some of the least likely people to receive the news first.  But through their eyes, I can’t even imagine the love, awe, and wonder they must have felt.  Over the years as our friends have had children, I have always counted it as such a precious honor to get a call or text sharing the news of the new baby before it is “Facebook official” or public common knowledge.  I don’t know why, but it always makes me feel extra loved to “make the cut” of those who receive a personal announcement from the happy family.  Knowing how I feel, I can only guess what it must have been like to receive the personal announcement that the Savior had been born.  Not only the personal announcement, but the personal invitation to come visit the newborn king, and the invitation to a personal relationship “for unto YOU is born this day, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)  What love! What joy! Not only were they the first to know, but to know even as lowly as they were, his birth was FOR them. 

Even the animals… the Bible doesn’t tell us that any animals were witness to His arrival, but since Mary and Joseph were staying in a stable with some connection to the inn it is very reasonable to believe that there were animals of some kind present on that special night.  From my years of working with livestock I know they can be pretty perceptive, and I can’t help but wonder if even those animals could feel the awe and wonder of what had just transpired- the King of Heaven had just come down to earth.    

And then there is Mary.  Luke 2:19 tells us after the shepherds left to share the news, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  I will admit, the song “Mary Did You Know?” has always one that I really felt pretty neutral about when it comes to Christmas songs.  I never loved it, but I wouldn’t switch the station when it came on either.  Due to out of the ordinary circumstances on Sunday, (a) was sitting on my lap during church instead of doing his normal nursery routine.  I was doing whatever it took to keep him quiet so he did not disrupt the service, and “whatever it took” involved me eating the stale puffs he was insistent on feeding me as he sat astraddle my lap.  He would shove one in my mouth, grin his huge silly smile as I gave in to his antics, and then quickly stick another one up to my lips.  As he was up to this game it turned time for communion and the piano player began to play “Mary Did You Know?” and as I thought about the words to the song I had to fight back tears.  Here on my lap sat the little boy who is our world, smiling his cheesy smile, and I thought- “I truly have no idea what your life will hold.”  I pray it is full of love, and joy, and hope, laughter, and service to God and others, family, and friends, and faithfulness.  His little mind wants to figure so many things out- it makes his Boilermaker momma hope he might consider engineering at my Alma Mater someday.  His love to play ball makes (A) hope someday he will have the chance to coach him.  His love for livestock and farming makes his Aunt “Kayda” hope he wants to be raised in the barn.  All of us who love this little boy have hopes and dreams for who he will be, how wonderful his life will be, and what he will make of himself.  None of us want to see him hurting, or let down, ridiculed, or taken advantage of, disappointed or betrayed.  Yet, I know, in my heart of hearts, that since we live in this world, I will also watch some of those things happen to my son. 

The Bible does not tell us how much Mary was privy to when it came to “knowing” what was ahead for her tiny infant son.  She knew and understood that he was the Messiah- God made that part clear.  But I can’t help but wonder what all she was pondering in her heart.  Would she have ever dreamed she would watch her son perform miracles, teach the multitudes, or love the “unloveable”? Would she have ever dreamed she would watch her son be betrayed, beaten, and crucified?  As I listening to the song play and held my son tightly, I couldn’t help but think of what went through her heart as a mom, as the Christmas story unfolded through her eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what goes through the heart of God the father as he watches how the “Christmas story” unfolds through my eyes.  He knows how much he loved that Son he sent for me, and he sees whether or not I am grateful daily for that gift.  Mary probably didn’t know, but He knew that the Christmas story would turn out to be so much more than just that night in the stable, He knew the entire story, because He was the author of it, and my response to that story is my response to His love for me. 

I have loved experiencing Christmas through the eyes of my child this year, but I also have a greater appreciation of God’s love for me as I experience Christmas through the eyes of a parent who loves her son.  I pray I never take for granted just how much God loves me, in that He gave his son to be my savior.  What excitement!  What joy! What love! His birth was FOR me.  Through those eyes, all I can say is Glory to God in the Highest!

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours!