the nativity project

i'm still figuring out how to be a mom. a good mom that is.

i think i will always feel like i'm in training. and i'm pretty sure i will feel like that forever. that's just part of the deal of life. try. fail. learn. grow. repeat. i think it's a good deal. it keeps me on my knees. and there is no better place to be.

a few days ago, i had one of those "what kind of mom i want to be" epiphanies. during this time of year, i start to think about traditions and how i'm teaching my children and what i want them to remember about our family when they start their own. 

i was walking past our nativity and stopped to look at it. all of the figures had been arranged neatly in a circle with baby Jesus in the center. i smiled. i thought of the deep significance of the arrangement. i'm sure the little hands that placed it that way weren't contemplating teaching me a lesson that day. but i'm grateful i stopped and took time to recognize that i want the Savior at the center of my life.

a few years ago, my natural response to seeing a rearranged nativity would be to carefully put all the pieces back the way they were "supposed" to be. as i thought about it, i realized i want my children to touch our nativity. i want them to play with it. i want it to be something special in their lives, a tradition they treasure. not something off limits or just a display. i want them to hold baby Jesus in their hands and in their hearts.

i've been grabbing the camera every so often and taking pictures of the nativity just as it is. should be a fun new project for me this time of year… to see things as my children do and to have a good laugh as well.