“…the Christmas story was my story”

(Thank you, Dorothy Thomson,  for sharing these inspiring views!)

My husband and I have been blessed with many wonderful happy Christmas’ with our four children, and extended family. Yet the one I wish to tell about has stayed in my consciousness as a rich treasure for many years.

One holiday season I gave deep thought to Mrs. Eddy’s instruction to memorize the nativity, “It is most fitting that Christian Scientists memorize the nativity of Jesus.” (Mis. 374:17-18). I wondered what she meant, for most of us have heard the story of the prophesy and birth of Jesus year after year for years. Haven’t we already got this one memorized?

Pondering this,  it occurred to me that I would read the story of the birth of Jesus across the four Gospels. Over a week or so I did this, appreciating the differing presentation in each, and for John, the absence of the Christmas story.

Instead, despite the spirituality evident in the Christmas story, a higher level of spirituality is presented:

-the arrival of “the Word” – “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. . .

-And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

-No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:14, 16-18).

Having finished my goal, I stopped. At some point shortly thereafter it came clearly to me that the Christmas story was my story and every one’s story.

Each is the Christ babe, dearly anticipated and genuinely wanted. Each is given loving, attentive and caring mother and father, parents. No matter what the world says about my parent(s), your parent (s), or their parent(s), everyone in reality is blessed with steadfast parenting.

And the thoughts continued. Each is given wisdom, times three, continuously feeding the thought. Each is provide rich gifts, abundant supply, not just the bare necessities. Each is shepherded, forever as it is given in Psalms 23 and surrounded by the unconditional love as displayed by the animals in the nativity, who love unconscious of human personality issues. Each is led through life by the Guiding Star of Being, no unknown sense of our individual gifts and purpose. Lastly each is protected from the killing Herod thought, not susceptible, vulnerable to evil in any way.

Somewhere in my then recent past I had a need to call The Mother Church staff for help on some Church issue. In that call the staff member and I moved from details, to spiritual ideas, and she had said something about protection from the killing Herod thought. So that naturally moved into this unfoldment of the true meaning of the Nativity.

Needless to say, this higher view annuls a multitude of human views of birth, childhood, parenting and living this life in the flesh, that warmed my heart tremendously. And this is the unfoldment that I treasure, for I could see now why our Leader asked us  to memorize the nativity, and pray with its deeper meaning to heal and to save.

Another consequence of this unfoldment was a Christmas so free of stress. For the first time, I was not up til 1 a.m. wrapping presents, stuffing stockings, but my husband and I were all done by about 10:30 Christmas eve, setting out the gifts for our children who were then in their elementary school years. It felt exceptional and I attributed it to this higher sense of the nativity.

Blessed Christmas is here again!