Over the years, one of my most FAVORITE Christmas traditions
has always been the children’s Christmas program at church. And one of my favorite children’s Christmas
novels has long been The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, because I can
TOTALLY relate to the story of putting together the unforgettable yearly
program with all the “off script” moments it can bring.
As an elementary student I LOVED the hours spent preparing
for the yearly event. I can still sing
some of the songs from various years, and I can still tell you who played what
parts in which programs. I also still
remember the year Victoria, Jessica, and I got the giggles and couldn’t get our
lines out for several minutes when we were the “three tree women” who owned a
Christmas tree lot. As an adult, that is
what I love the most about the children’s program- that fact that something
ALWAYS goes wrong. I will admit, the
many years I was the director of the program I was TERRIFIED of what was going
to go wrong, but the humor in the mistakes is what is always most
memorable. Our last ministry began in
early December of 2007 and we still did not know many of the families very well
by the time the first children’s Christmas program rolled around our 2nd
or 3rd week there. However, a
couple of the children quickly became well-known to us when Joseph and the
Shepherd got in a fist fight on stage right in the middle of the program (it
had something to do with one stole the other’s chair- they were both
preschool/kindergarten age and are now respectful high school students
haha). Their moms were horrified, we
thought it was hilarious (we weren’t parents yet)! I remember one year my mom directed the
program and had an entire company of heavenly hosts who were more interested in
rolling around on the floor and playing than performing their angelic
roles. Then there was the year I was
directing and a little angel in the front row stood in the middle of the
program and announced she had to go to the bathroom. This year’s performance was no exception as a
young shepherd on the front row showed off some entertaining dance moves of his
own original choreography complete with fancy footwork, cheesy show choir
faces, and antics with his shepherd’s crook.
 |
| The pig and the cow... that's exactly what I'm talking about! |
While I feel the director’s pain of wanting the program to
come off perfectly, what I love about the program is the precious imperfection-
the humor in the hiccups, the memories in the mistakes. For me, it is the perfect reminder of what
that first Christmas was really about.
The joy of God’s perfect son, coming to imperfect people. I’m sure his stable birth was probably not
exactly how Mary thought his entrance would play out. The shepherds were not the most likely
“birthing center” guests for the King of Kings.
But those things are what makes the story most impactful- God didn’t
send his Son in any of the ways the Jews anticipated the Messiah would
arrive. God’s plan seemed a little “off
script” by human expectations, but it was the perfect way to show how much He
loved us- that the Savior of the World would come to Earth in the most humble of
beginnings.
Some days I look at my life and feel like things are a
little “off script” from what I had planned… after all, at 17 I hoped to be on
Capitol Hill by 25. At 30, I had
accomplished none of the goals I had set for my 30th , and now, a
few years beyond that, I look around and we have thrown the “script” out the
window completely and we are just daily living in what God gives us. But day by day, I am finding that is the
beauty in the story… that just like the first Christmas, God’s plan (while it
may seem “off script” from ours) is going to play out perfectly. We may not know exactly what it is going to
look like (as children’s Christmas program directors often find out) but we
know whatever it is, it is good. After
all, He loves us enough that he sent the ultimate gift- tiny baby Jesus, Savior
of the World, King of Kings.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders. And he will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6
Loved it!
ReplyDelete