On the last Sunday of Advent, I want to share this prayer with you. It is based on a sermon I heard by a lay pastor in a small village Presbyterian church many years ago.
The Stable
Each Christmas we would play with it
Moving the figures in and out of the scene
The painted kings and their sturdy camel
Would travel across the desert of the coffee table
The clan of shepherds would come down
From the hills of the book cases
With their chalky sheep
We would pretend to be in the company
Of kings and camels, shepherds and sheep
As I grew older I would still consider
Each character and how I would play their part
The young virgin, scared and courageous
The fiancé with his doubt and anger
Each studied through my own doubt and fear
Who was I in this tableaux
And where was my place in this story
Until the forgotten player
Emerged in my mind
The empty stable
Humble and receptive
The space where all the emotions
Longings, doubts, beliefs became real
The empty space readied and waiting
To be filled
It is my example and my constant prayer –
to be open and ready
Receptive and humble
To the Presence of Light and Love
Now and forever
Make my heart Your home
Amen
thecourseofourseasons 
..perfect offering to fill the season… thank you for sharing… smiles..
A peaceful Christmas to you and family…
The Lord fill us with His Light and Love this Christmas Season and beyond! God bless you and your family!
Hi. I still move the figures gradually towards the stable. Even as an adult, I need to remind myself of the beautiful reason for Christmas and its story. Jane
When I was young, we would play with these figurines too ~ Nowadays, our baby in the manger sits beside the gaily Christmas tree ~
Wonderful retelling and I hope we bring the love and light to others in the coming year ~
Merry Christmas ~
A very good lesson here – as with all your poems – I am going to try to keep it in mind. Thanks. k.
The empty space readied and waiting
To be filled…this is def. thinking beyond the borders…i really like this…finding our role..not always easy and sometimes we just have to think out of the box…happy christmas to you kathleen
love this…my parents had one on the piano and we would play with it and put it in differnt set ups…it was always a center piece of christmas and we would use it to tell the story…thank you for your wonderful words this year…it was great meeting you as well and i am all the richer for it..merry christmas