The other day my two girls were admiring the manger scene in the foyer of our church. They were a little confused, however, as to a missing element: baby Jesus. They came to me and were worried:
“Dad, the manger set is missing baby Jesus.”
I said: “Really? Isn’t that the most important part? How can that be missing?”
They replied, “We don’t know, it’s just not there.”
To which I quipped, “Well that’s awkward. It must be lost.”
My wife overheard the conversation and told me (and the girls) something that I never knew before: “Some people don’t put baby Jesus in the manger scene until after Christmas because he hasn’t come yet.”
I had never heard of that before! I’ve been in church since I was a baby! That’s 35 years, and I have never heard of this practice before. But it totally makes sense.
While I was thinking about how I had been asleep and oblivious all my life, my wife’s answer completely satisfied Sari and Macie’s curiosity and off they went to explore and learn more of the world around them.
