I want to share with you a moment in time. I was the only one that saw it. I snapped a photo in my mind and come back to it often this time of year.
One Christmas when we had gathered with family to exchange gifts, there was the usual chaos of chatter, presents being ripped open, the living room knee deep in paper and packaging, “Thank yous” and “How’d you like its?” were being hollered across the room over the sounds of excited children. In the middle of it all, I caught a glimpse of
my niece sitting cross legged on the floor. Maybe no one else saw because she was barely higher than the mounds of wrapping paper. She was holding a small doll she had just opened, cradling it in her arms, softly singing “Away in a Manger”.
In the middle of the noise and chaos of Christmas, she was singing to the baby Jesus.
What she showed me that night is a lesson we can all learn. No matter what is going on around us, we can still plant ourselves firmly in the midst of it, and focus on the one thing that really matters.
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head
The stars in the bright sky shone down where he lay
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
Leah by the Lake 