Grandma Lu Tells The Children The Christmas Story

Today was Christmas Eve. Marleewood shoppers for the most part had gone home. Grandma Lu just stopped in to tell everyone Merry Christmas before they went home for their family dinners, and gift opening. Some folks open gifts on Christmas Eve, and some on Christmas Day. Many families have their own traditions about that too.
She walked into the sitting room and settled into her soft old easy chair with her books. She brought them just in case anyone wanted her to tell them a story. She brought her books along sometimes in case she forgot something important.

Christmas 1942

She sat for awhile in her chair thinking about when she was a child. Oh, things were so different then. But one thing remained the same throughout her seventy-four years. The Christmas Story. This was a story about a baby. His name was Baby Jesus to many folks.

Christmas 1975

In her lap she held her daddy's Bible. Oh it was so old and frayed. Inside were her mother's and father's writing with little notes to the side. Oh she missed them especially at the special holiday times.

The other book was called The Children's Bible. Her mother and father had given her daughter that book in 1975 for a Christmas present. She would have been eight (8) years old. Too young to understand/read some of it. But she had kept that Bible all these years. Someday she would give it to her she guessed.
Marlee walked in kind of quiet with some her friends. They just quietly looked at Grandma Lu and sat at her feet. Not saying a word, she opened up the Children's Bible and started telling the story she had heard from the time she was a tiny little girl. She told this story just the way her mama told her the Christmas Story when she was not much older than Marlee.

"It all started one day in a land far far away over 2000 years ago. Too high to count isn't it?, she asked. They nodded and remained still. They seemed to know that this story was important.
Mary and Joseph lived by a beautiful sea. Remember we talked about those great big waters that were even bigger than lakes? This is a picture of the sea by where they lived.

 Mary and Joseph were expecting a baby. But they needed to travel to where Joseph's family came from. The name of the town was Bethlehem. You know what? Those folks didn't have a car, Mary had to ride a donkey and Joseph walked beside them.
This was the picture that she showed the children.
 It was a long trip and Mary needed to rest. They needed to get a motel room, but so many people had gotten there before they did that there weren't any rooms available. One place they stopped at, an inn keeper (that's what they used to call them those days) said that he didn't have any rooms with beds, but they were welcome to stay in his stable where his animals slept.
Mary and Joseph were grateful for anywhere that was warm and dry.
Soon the baby was born. It was a little boy and they named him Jesus.
Mary didn't have a baby crib, but there was a place where animals were fed. In those days they called them mangers. She and Joseph filled it with soft clean straw that they found and gently laid the baby there.
It seemed that there were some shepherds that stayed out in the fields with their sheep. They did that to protect their sheep from wild animals that might hurt them.
Suddenly there was a Angel from Heaven that said, "Don't be afraid, because I bring you good news! There has been a baby born that is wrapped up in swaddling clothes (little strips of soft cloth wrapping the baby) lying in a manger.. When the Angel quit talking all of a sudden there was what the Bible called a multitude of heavenly hosts.
 That means a lot of angels. The shepherds heard them say "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, and good will towards men."
Do you know what those shepherds did, well they decided to go into town and see if what the Angels said was true. Sure enough, there in a stable laid the precious baby boy in the manger with his mother and father at his side.
News spread of Jesus' birth. There was a bad king that didn't like to hear people call that baby a king because he wanted to be the only king. He was selfish, wasn't he? Well, he needed to know that this story was true so he sent three (3) of his wisest (smartest) men to go see if the story  really was true. He wanted to be told if it was.
Those three (3) men started out on their journey to see for themselves. All of a sudden there was a really bright star in the sky. It seemed like it was so bright it almost hurt their eyes. But you know what, that star seemed to move and it guided those three (3) wise men right to the stable.
As soon as those Wise Men saw that baby the story says that they fell to their knees and gave him gifts of gold, and something called frankincense. It was kind of sticky stuff that they could burn. They also gave him something called myrrh. That is something that was used in that country for perfume and medicines and also incense. (Some people burn it nowadays in their homes.)
Well, those Wise Men were good men. They had been warned by God not to go back to that bad king. So they left and went a different direction.

Picture credit
Keith R. Johnson
The Holy Land

This story is just the beginning of Jesus' life and the good things that he accomplished in his short life. Many people believe that He is their Savior and many people don't. Whether you believe that or not makes no difference.
Jesus grew up and became a wonderful teacher and a healer of folks that were sick.
Just some of the most important things that Jesus taught us when he grew up was this: Be kind to each other. Love one another. And love Him.
Here is a picture of a church which stands in the place where the stable used to be.