.mary.

Tonight I played the part of Mary in a live nativity scene. And right about now you’re probably thinking how you have never seen a blonde Mary before. Don’t worry–me either! But somehow I was given that part. Because my part was a nonspeaking role I had a lot of opportunities to listen and watch those that passed by. My favorite quote from the night was from a little boy no more than six years old who walked right on up to the stable and said quite passionately, “Seriously, a fake baby? That’s a fake baby! Seriously?! And I bet that cow is really a woman dressed up! That’s a fake baby!” Somehow I maintained a straight face through his whole speech; inside I was dying laughing at his obvious concern about the fake baby.

Yet between the smells of the animals and funnel cakes, the flashing lights of the hundreds of pictures taken, and the cold that constantly reminds you that you are alive, God taught me something. For a few short hours He took me on somewhat of a journey through Christmas and it was one of the coolest things to experience. Not being able to talk, I had a lot of time to think and reflect which I enjoy doing from time to time. When we first opened the nativity scene I began to realize that I needed to act as Mary would have acted. So I naturally began to ask myself questions such as what would Mary be feeling, how would she be treating those around her, and would she be wondering about what the future held in store for her now? I imagined her as being delighted and scared all at the same time. If I was Mary I would be so scared that at some point in time God would just consider me not worthy anymore to be Jesus’ mother and take him away from me. I also realized just how strong a bond between a mother and child can truly be. Yet he came as a baby fully understanding the weaknesses he placed upon himself.

After a while I began to focus more on the crowd. Hundreds of people passed by and most whipped out their cameras to make sure to get a picture of the nativity scene. Baby Jesus was the star of the whole production. I can only imagine what it would have been like if the paparazzi had been around during the time of Jesus. While I was watching the crowd God began to soften my heart for those that walked by. I began to ask God to show me what He saw as they went by and he opened my eyes to see the depravity of mankind. Here they are, smack dab in the middle of a reenactment of the birth of the one who can move them from death to life, and all they care about is posting a picture to Facebook. Most connect Jesus to Christmas and move on, never really bothering with him during the rest of the year. He constantly remains “baby Jesus” in their minds. How is it that mankind can come face to face with God’s love and walk away simply because it was not an attention grabbing, feel good, build me up event? My heart broke for the hundreds that walked by that don’t recognize the absolute power and love behind the life of one little baby.

Lastly, God reminded me to have childlike faith. There was one little girl who was so excited to see Jesus. As soon as she walked into the village, I could hear her telling her mom, “There he is! There’s Jesus!” As she got closer to the stable she made her way to the front and just stared. Her eyes were big, her mouth was opened in an awestruck smile, and she was excited. She was amazed and captivated by Jesus, even though it was a baby doll. Yet in that moment God reminded me that I need to be just like this little girl. Christmas is a time for me to be amazed and captivated by what God did for me. Not only was it a remarkable event, it was authentic and exciting.

God thankfully reminded me that I had yet to fully grasp the true meaning of Christmas. I could tell you all the facts about the biblical Christmas story, but God had to place me in it for me to truly get it. It took twenty years, but He knew this year was the perfect year to teach me yet again. Christmas is about learning how to be obedient and trusting like Mary. Christmas is about realizing our world is in need of a Savior and a larger view of God. Christmas is about allowing God to captivate us with His love and beauty. May we be reminded of what Christmas is really about and may we seek to proclaim this message to the world this year.