Reflection on Christmas

"Mary, Did You Know" has to be my favorite Christmas song. I absolutely love it! And yes, I do get a lot of my inspiration for blogs from songs! 
We need to focus on the real reason for Christmas. I know that so many of us has heard this way to many times but I think its a good thing to hear, just to remind us."Jesus is the reason for the season" type logos are to, well....to religious for me. Yes it's true. But I want something deeper than just religion. I want a relationship. My pastor told a story tonight at the Christmas Eve service. It made me cry.

There were a couple of missionaries in a orphanage during Christmas. (I don't remember what country it was) They told the children the story of Jesus and afterward, they gave them some paper, flannel, tissue paper and cardboard to make their own manger scene. The cardboard was for the manger, the tissue paper for the hay, the flannel for a blanket and the paper was to make baby Jesus. One of the missionaries was going around looking at the children's crafts and everything was going well until he came to one little boy. This little boy had two babies in the manger, instead of just one. When he asked the little boy why there were two babies in the manger, the little boy started to tell the Christmas story from the beginning with accuracy until the end. When he came to the end of the story this is what he said.
"When Mary put Jesus in the manger, Jesus asked me if I had anyplace to stay. I said no. I didn't have a mommy, or a daddy, or a place to live. I was all by myself. Jesus asked if I wanted to stay with Him. I really wanted to, but I knew I didn't have a gift for Jesus like the three wise-men. But I thought that maybe He would want me to keep Him warm. I asked Jesus if He would like that. Jesus replied and said, "Yes. If you kept me warm, that would be the greatest gift I have ever received." The little boy then climbed into the manger with Jesus, and Jesus told him that he could stay with Him forever and ever. After finishing his story, the little boy burst into tears and could only repeat the words "forever and ever" over and over again.

"Forever and ever" is why Jesus came to this earth. "Forever and ever" is why we have Christmas. "Forever and ever" is how long Jesus' love lasts for us. "Forever and ever" is how long we will be in Heaven with Jesus Christ, that little baby boy who came to die for us.

There is also another story my pastor told tonight.
There was a mom doing some last minute Christmas shopping. And, as anyone would be on Christmas Eve, she was pretty rushed. At some point in her craze, she realized that her three year old was nowhere to be seen. She retraced her steps and found him with his nose up against a window. In the window was a Nativity scene display. He turned to his mom and said, "Look mommy! It's Jesus! It's baby Jesus!" As his mother hurriedly jerked him away from the window she said, "Hurry up, we don't have time for that."

"We don't have time for that" ?! You don't have time for the whole reason of Christmas when you are out running around for Christmas presents? I know I'm guilty of it. Everyone is. Forgetting why we celebrate Christmas. But my goal this year is to make time for the one and only Christmas present that will last forever and ever.

I still don't know where the song "Mary, Did you Know?" fits into all of this...lol...but I just think it's a pretty cool song. Did Mary know that she was holding the human form of God? Did she know that the baby she held had walked with angels, and would someday walk on water? That just amazes me. The end of the song gives me chills everytime I hear it! 

Merry Christmas everyone!