Our family had a tradition of acting out the first Christmas on Christmas morning. Dad got to play the donkey that Mary would ride. My oldest daughter who now has children of her own, told me something about those Christmas plays so long ago. She loved to ride on Dad the donkey but when her sister's got old enough she thought they should get a chance and so she quietly gave up her spot as Mary. I don't think the other girls realized the gift she had given them. Something that was dear to her, that she gave without complaint or fan fair. How impressed I was that she not only knew the true meaning of Christmas but lived it. Like Jesus the Christ, who knew how to give perfectly, she learn how to give. Those gifts we give in secret that sometimes only ourselves, God and His angels know about are the best and most sacred gifts. I know these gifts are recorded in Heaven and that Angels glory over them. I love the Christmas season and the spirit that comes with it. The opportunity to smile at people without looking strange, driving more courteously, showing more patience doing small acts of kindness. The chance to tell those you love what they mean to you. I know the season has times that it takes on stress and trials but I hope we will all sit back with a cup of cocoa and think of the many tender mercies given us, seen and unseen, by angels above and those that walk among us. Let love abide in our hearts and peace be upon the land for the moment of celebration of our Savior's birth.
