Each Christmas, we pull out the cradle my Grandpa Hank built for me, swaddle a baby doll who will be "Jesus" for the season, and tuck it under the bottom branches of the christmas tree. I know that many families choose to leave Jesus' arrival until Christmas Eve, but I love the feeling and the metaphor of the star-lit tree twinkling above this "newborn baby". I am reminded of the hope and innocence that every living thing comes to Earth with ("trailing clouds of glory," of course). We all have that potential to be the one voice or the one heart that makes the world a brighter place for someone else just because we loved and shared or allowed them to do the same..."Loving and sharing"... yep. That's what we focus on here. So, of course it was sweet when Gabriella picked up the baby Jesus, carrying him gently toward the stairs, gazing at his sweet face. "He's hungry, Amme." She informed me. Samuel didn't think so. He ran over, ripped the baby from her arms and shoved him back in the cradle. "'Aby Desus wight 'ERE!!" He proclaimed, stretching his arms up to indicate the tree and the cradle all at once - our special corner.
Well, you know that Gabriella didn't take that lying down! I haven't seen these two scuffle like that ever. And so it begins. We all have things that are sacred to us - ideas, objects, or people - and we all have our own individual ways of showing our devotion. The trick is tolerance... not to become insanely angry when the bottom line of another person's ideas or methods is that you are wrong.
"Let there be peace on Earth and let it begin with me."
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