Jesus in my Pocket

One of my favorite days of the year is when we have our freshly cut tree in the stand and I open the first box of "Christmas". The layers of decorations are like layers of years and when I dig through them it makes my heart swell every single time. 'Our First Christmas Together' complete with photo of two very young adults, a toddler's hand-print creation, a kindergartner's big grin surrounded by hot glued buttons, a felt-covered bird from great-grandmother's tree, the angel that's been proclaiming the Good News over our family tree for 20 years. Each item has a story that seems to get retold as we unpack the boxes.

One little random item caught my attention this time. It's very familiar. A tiny porcelain baby Jesus mismatched from a set long ago. But what's special about this little figure is the image it immediately brought to mind.

When Hannah was preschool age, I guess 3-4 years old, she loved babies. And when Christmas came and she heard there was a baby in that manger, she was ALL ABOUT Baby Jesus. Everywhere we saw Him, she pointed Him out. "There's Baby Jesus! I want to hold Him!" would be her cry. It seemed so sweet and sometimes I was able to grant her plea... like if we were at church or a friend's house and there was a plastic nativity set. It wasn't so great, however, when when she would lunge out of the stroller at the Town Center Mall toward an expensive porcelain set in hopes of kissing the Baby Jesus one more time.

So one day, Hannah apparently slips the tiny Jesus figure from a small set at home into her pocket as we headed out the door to preschool. Of course, in the hustle and bustle of getting a four year old and a three year old out the door I never missed it. Late that morning when I picked them up- Hannah from the downstairs class and Garrett from the upstairs class- I loaded them in matching car seats and off we went. But on the way home, I noticed the Baby Jesus from home. When I asked Hannah where it came from, she didn't hesitate for a minute.

"Jesus was in my pocket." Um, Why? "I needed Him to stay with me".

Well, after reminding her that her teacher doesn't like the kids to bring toys from home... and my three year old telling me that Jesus isn't a toy... we decided came to a compromise about taking Him to school.

As I rubbed this little figure in my hands 14 years later, I immediately heard that tiny voice say to me again, ""Jesus was in my pocket... I needed Him to stay with me". I've read the Christmas story this season and the familiar words often have the same effect as unpacking those boxes- my heart swells with familiarity and love. But now, I want to go beyond just appreciating the story of Jesus birth and how it fits into God's story of the redemption of mankind.

I really want to adore Him. And like Hannah never wanting the Baby to be far from her, I NEVER want to be far from Him- this season or ever.

As He prepared to leave this earth, that grown-up Baby Jesus said, "Remain in me and I will remain in you. Remain in my love" (John 15:4,10)