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10 Minutes Peace
by Susan McGrath
It's Christmas time again. A time when we see decorations of every size shape and color. Not only fun holiday items such as Santa and Christmas trees, but even nativity scenes get tweaked a bit.
Most of us have a little porcelain or wooden nativity set we put in a place of honor each year. The kids may have their own set, made of stuffed people and animals, resin, or even plastic ones modeled after cartoon characters or animals.
We have a church in our town which has a living nativity. I love seeing what it might have been like for Jesus to come into the world. And I have much admiration for Mary, who gave birth under harsh circumstances. (As did most women in that time!)
But I heard some radio personalities on a St. Louis station this week talking about a display which featured a Lego nativity scene. Yes Joseph, Mary and Jesus in plastic blocks!
I don't know if it was in miniature, life-size or somewhere in between. I just know it made me laugh a little. Does this mean I don't have reverence for God's gift of the Christ child? Does it mean I've become desensitized to the true meaning of Christmas? I hope not.
What it made me think was that some creative person was using the talent God gave them to express something which is important to them -- Christ's birth. Whoever created it could just as easily have made a Christmas tree or Santa and the reindeer gang, but they chose to depict baby Jesus.
Why in Legos? Who knows. Maybe it's a medium that will speak to people who would ignore the live animals or the manger made of white lights. (There are those who take Legos quite seriously -- even companies who have paid thousands of dollars for the construction of Lego desks in order to recruit top employees for whom this was still a favorite building material.)
Perhaps it will touch the imagination and then the heart of one of those future CEOs. Think what impact that could eventually have. What a way to use a gift!
So if you happen to see baby Jesus made from red and blue snap blocks, don't be too offended. Remember God gave us each a different gift with the intention that we would share His story.
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a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;
living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;
completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.
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