Still

There is really not very much about our home that is still these days.  The hours are filled with busy preparations and celebrations everywhere we turn.  These weeks and days and moments of preparation are indeed one of the most precious parts of the holiday season.  Yet at the nativity scene there is always  stillness.  Created in part by the strict mama rules of how to handle, but mostly (I hope!) by the natural childlike reverence for the miracle at very center of this wonderful season.   While my dreams and plans for a nativity set that is child-friendly are still just dreams and plans, this all white set, placed within stools reach of little hands is shown a great deal of love.  In fact every time I turn around it has been rearranged…different yet always the same.  For without prompt or instruction the little and even the littlest of little hands always arrange each figure in a tight circle with a perfect view of the manger and the Christ child.  They know just where they would want to be had they been there centuries ago, and they ensure each beloved figure a spot to gaze at the miracle.  This practice of moving around the nativity scene (constantly)  is one of the still beauties of this season.  And while the commercial aspects of the season are nearly impossible to escape, they know, and regularly show that they know, what is in fact right at the center of this special season. 

So we joyously count down the days until Christmas and enjoy each still moment along the way.