The Same Story as Last Year

Last night as my family participated in the Live Nativity at our church, I urged Tucker (now 6 years old) to go listen to the Nativity Story being read near the stable. He sat down and listened for a few minutes and then came running toward me and said...

"Mom, they are reading the same story as last year". I chuckled and mentioned that it was because the story of Jesus birth is the whole reason we have Christmas. He shrugged his shoulder and went on his way.

He's six. And although I'm a little disappointed in his response, I know that as we teach him more about Jesus that he will come to understand the truth and the beauty of this wonderful season.

But...as I mulled the words over in my head last night... "the same story as last year" I wondered how many times have I acted like that. It's Christmas....Jesus Birthday....same story as last year. It's Christmas...all the hustle and bustle....the busyness....the gifts and presents...oh...yes, and then there's Jesus Birthday...same as last year. Or as I've listened to a sermon or read a devotion have I thought...I know this story....Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the angels, the shepherd and wise men and the star....blah, blah, blah. The same old story....again...just like last year and the year before and the year before. 


Just in case you're like me and there's been a time when the story hasn't meant as much to you as it should....take a moment to reflect on the beauty of that night in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.

The no vacancy sign
The wooden feeding trough where Jesus would lay
A scared first time mother
The first cry of the Savior
Shepherds who heard the news first
Wise men who came from afar

Yes...I've heard the story time and time again....yes, I can practically recite Luke 2. But what difference has that night made in my life? What do I carry with me because of the promised fulfilled in a baby? What new thing have I learned because I listened to this same story as last year?

May I never get tired of hearing the same story as last year. May the familiar words bring comfort and peace. May I be reminded of the revealed promise in a tiny baby and may my heart be humbled by the Savior who came in all lowliness and humility to save a world that would reject Him and eventually nail Hm to a cross. His story doesn't get old. His story is one of the only things in this world that will last forever. It may be the same one I heard last year....but it's the only real thing about this season!