With Child

Take a moment to set aside the traditional pictures of the manger and use your heart to read the following.
 

 

a gasp, a cry

an exhausted mother's sigh

a father's teardrops

a heavenly umbilical cord cut and tied

 

a sweet aroma of fresh hay

a tiny gurgle as rosebud lips find milk

a whispered prayer

a naming as God commanded

 

a squeak of rafters as birds and mice gather

a gentle breeze to fan the fire

a clip and clop of a donkey's feet

a quiet baa-aa and a gentle moo

 

a ray of starlight

a flutter of angel wings

a silence

a moment realizing God's sacrifice- His only Son

 

a yip of a sheepdog on the hillside

an owl's hoot as he hunts

a rowdy laugh from the inn

a braying camel on the dusty road

 

a mother and babe sleep

a father watches

an angel guards

a world waits

 

                               ~ Constance Gilbert

 

 

From my friend Joseph Mazzella:

T'was the day after Christmas 33 years ago. I was newly married and still in college. Only 10 days earlier my wife had gone into labor with our first child. It was a scary delivery that ended in an emergency C-section. We were so grateful to have Joseph John Mazzella II also known as JJ sleeping peacefully in the cradle next to our bed. The day before we had been on the road showing off our little bundle of joy to all of the grandparents and great-grandparents. It had been a busy Christmas and hard on my wife who was still recovering from her surgery. Now we were back in our tiny trailer trying to get a few extra winks of sleep before starting the day. Just then I heard JJ stirring in his cradle. I leaned over and picked him up before he started to cry and then carefully crept out into the living room so my wife could keep sleeping. I picked up a bottle and sat in our rocking chair with JJ in my arms I rocked quietly and fed him in the semi-dark room while he looked up at me with his loving, innocent eyes. I spoke softly to him but also felt a little fear as I watched him. How was I going to take care of him? I was still in school and had no idea what the future held in store for us. I rocked and worried and worried and rocked. After a few minutes I saw the sun slowly rising in the sky outside my window. The bright light was shining down from the heavens making the freshly fallen snow shine with a beauty that touched my soul. As I watched it my fear fled and I felt such a sense of peace, harmony, love, and joy. The Christmas spirit had snuck into my heart when I wasn’t looking and I smiled. I knew then that whatever the future held, it would be alright as long as I kept love in my heart. Christmas is such a blessed time. It is a time of Love. A Holy Child’s Love. A Heavenly Father’s Love. A Love that unites us all. A Love that forever conquers fear. Welcome that Love into your heart. Live it in your life. Make a home for it in your soul. Share it with everyone not only on Christmas day but every day. Embrace the blessing of Christmas by making Christmas a way of life.