Missing: Baby Jesus

My sweet seven-year-old, Shelby, is the official decorator in our house. [She's actually the only decorator. She loves all things beautiful and fancy and season-attentive. I appreciate it but don't put in the time. My husband and son may not even notice if we put a tree in the middle of the tub.]

 And though she set up her own pink Christmas tree in September (not kidding), I told her she needed to wait until the week of Thanksgiving to set up the nativity. She gathered everything from her closet (yes, that's where it's stored; I told you she was our decorator) and started setting it up in our living room. 

 After some minutes, she solemnly came up to me and softly confided, "Mom, I can't find baby Jesus. And you know we can't have a nativity without Him."

 I loved her sweet heart and her childlike understanding of the manger scene. And as I sent her to her room to look a little more, I pondered the depth of her statement: Can I tell you right now where Jesus is in my heart? Is my Christmas really focused on Him or is He lost in the midst of everything else?

 She returned from looking and declared: "I don't see him anywhere. I'm just going to put so much stuff in the manger that nobody will realize He's not there." In her hands were tiny Christmas ornaments, small gold stars, some cotton (probably left over from Easter), and other various sparkly things. She really did it; the manger was so full you might not even notice that Jesus wasn't there. 

 [By now you're probably asking yourself, "How full is my own Christmas? Am I leaving space and time and mental clarity for the One who came not just to live but to die for me? Or do I have so much stuff in my life right now that I actually--heaven forbid--push Him aside until Christmas is gone and my life is more sane?"]

 Shelby left the room and my 9-year-old son, Daniel, came in. "Shelby told me she couldn't find Jesus," he told me, "but I have an idea." Daniel proceeded to take all the other people in our manger scene--shepherds, wise men, and a few others from an incomplete nativity set we picked up somewhere along the way--and lined them up along the front of the manger. "There," he declared, "now there are so many people you can't even see He's missing."

 Out of the mouths of babes didn't even start to describe how my own heart had been kick-started. This was my own struggle right here: I love people. I want to do family stuff, friend stuff, church stuff, music stuff, and everything that will spread joy and goodwill and good food and good times. People are what make our lives full, and Christmas is a great time to draw close to those we love. 

 Unless those people block our view of Jesus. 

 So under the inspiration of my children and their oh-so-simple quest to find Jesus in this Christmas season, I'm going to do a few things differently this December:

  • I'm going to actually seek Him. Really seek Him, in His Word. My quiet time is sacred, and in order to honor Jesus at Christmas, this must stay first in my priorities. 
  • I'm going to worship Him. The wise men, likely sorcerers and astrologers from Babylon or some other far-away land, brought their riches to worship Him. They didn't miss who He was, because they were looking for Him. I can, too, in how I focus my life on the only Lord and King.
  • I'm going to give Him the center spotlight. Center of my focus, center of my time, center of my heart. I can't be the person I need to be unless He is the one who fills me with strength, love, hope, and joy. Anything great I do for others comes from Him living inside me.
  • I'm not going to let other things crowd Him out. No matter how fun the prospect of another Christmas party is, I'm going to keep it peaceful around here. I'm going to keep peace in my mind and my heart by saying, "No, thanks," to a couple of invites.
You'll be happy to know that Baby Jesus was found...in Shelby's toy box. [I'm sure there's another lesson in that.] And every time I look at that nativity, I'll remember that He is back where He belongs: the star of Bethlehem.

Want to read a few more blog posts about Christmas? They're old but I still love them: I wrote them on Mary, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Joseph (and another here), the shepherds, and even one for college girls on how to enjoy Christmas break. 


@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goodbye, Mr. Ken

Image
I usually try to keep my blog posts general, so that any person from any walk of life who reads it will read truth that can be applied. But today I may be writing to a select few people: those who knew Mr. Ken Greene. I started working with teenagers in my church in 2003 after a holy calling from the Lord. And the first Sunday that I stepped into that overwhelmingly-noisy room full of high schoolers, there was Mr. Ken. He was as predictable as the morning sun. He was there every single Sunday morning, taking the roll and shaking hands with kids. (I just realized that some of those teenagers didn't shake hands with anyone BUT Mr. Ken. Shaking hands is a lost art, unless you knew Mr. Ken.) And he was there every Wednesday night, handing out gum from his fanny pack. Yes, I've taken some myself, and I don't even like gum. But I loved Mr. Ken. I thought of Mr. Ken as one of those guys who would never die. Seriously, the man never aged and never slowed down. He had endura...
Read more

In Your Mouth

Image
What do you put in your mouth? And why? I wrote a post a while back about a book my pastor gave me  and I was so enthralled with it he gave me another: Eat this Book by Eugene Peterson. (If that name rings a bell, it's because that's the guy who wrote The Message version of the Bible. And if you like The Message , you should really read this book.) Anyway, the book is centered on this passage from Revelation:  "So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, 'Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth,'" (Revelation 10:9, HCSB). John, the writer of Revelation, did just that: He ate the words of the Lord. Literally. Now, to get the main idea of the book, you need to read it. But what I'm sharing with you today is what God's been working in me over the past few weeks: God has put His word in our mouths. Well, at least, He said He did. Here are just a...
Read more

Eleven Truths Nobody Else will Tell You

1. You have ONE identity: I AM GOD'S.  Refuse to be defined by what you do or don't do, have or don't have, or "whose" you are other than God Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.  God gave you passions and talents: do them. You are different from everyone else and that is GOOD! Be weird.  BE YOU. Not the you that you want  to be...the you God created you to be. (Isaiah 43:1, Psalm 89:15-16) 2. This is not the high point of your life.  Refuse to believe the lie about "high school is the best time of your life." Determine to make each season of life  your best in any situation .  Choose to be content AND thankful every day .  (1 Timothy 6:19, Philippians 4:6-7) 3. You are weak.  But you are strong enough for anything  if you use JESUS' STRENGTH.  He WILL give you more than you can handle but not more than HE can handle! (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Philippians 4:13) 4. There is no such thing as "...
Read more