Wanting to See God

My favorite part about decorating my home for Christmas, is setting out the nativity figures and crèche.  As a child, I  loved to carefully unwrap each precious figurine from it's cozy bed of waded paper toweling.  Then, I would gently set each little statuette into the nativity scene with careful thought of how it might look best to it's admirers.  Usually, all lined up on either side of the mossy, wooden stable on the piano of my home.

When the time came to include my own children in the unwrapping of the nativity set, I noticed that the scene never seemed to remain the same from when I had carefully helped them set it up.  My children always viewed the nativity set as a play toy.  A stage.  Engaging with the scene with words, sounds, animal noises and movement.  Sometimes adding flying cars, picnic baskets and toy food into the mix.  In watching my daughter play with the nativity set, I noticed that she would always carefully rearrange the figures into a semicircle around the stable and baby Jesus.  When I asked why she liked it that way, she said to me......."They all want to see God."

Don't we all long to see God?  To be engaged in the story of God's love that Jesus embodies.  To find in the nativity figures.....ourselves.  Realizing, that it is our story too.