Day 106: Simply Miraculous

I started to tell Shortstack the Christmas story the other night.  I kinda wish I had one of those Little Tyke's Nativity Sets.  I think it would make the telling a little easier.

I don't think I have ever really thought about how bizarre the story of Jesus' birth sounds until I tried to relate it to a 3 year old.

She kept looking at me like, "huh?"

I started saying, "It's almost Christmas!  Do you know what Christmas is?"

No response.

"It's Jesus' birthday.  Isn't that exciting?"

"We have cake?" she asked.

"Well we could have cake, I suppose."

"You know when Jesus was born,  he was a tiny, tiny baby, and everyone came to see him."

"They came to his house?"

"Well, not exactly.  You see when he was born he was not at his house.  He was in a manger . . . ummm, a barn.   With a bunch of animals."

"They had a party wif old mcdonald?"

"Well, no, not Old Mcdonald.  It was a barn not a farm.  And his mama made him a bed in the hay when he was born.  And everyone came to see him.  Angels, and shepherds and wisemen."

"His mommy in da barn?"

"Yes, Mary was his mommy and she loved him very much.  And she named him Jesus."

"He had a birtday and they sing and they eat cake and they bow out the tandles?"

Nitro pipes in here and says, "Cake?"

I didn't even get to the part about the shepherds in the field  and the singing angels and King Herod and Joseph and the donkey and the whole "no room at the inn" thing or the virgin birth!  (Well, I'll probably skip the whole "virgin birth" part for a few more years at least.)

All that to say, I think I take for granted just how miraculous Christmas really is.  Simply miraculous.  A beautiful story.  One that I will have to learn how to tell to a couple of three year olds!