Two Babies in a Manger
[Author Unknown] In 1994, two Americans answered an
invitation from the
Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on
biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach
at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large
orphanage. About 100 boys and girls, who had been abandoned, abused,
and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage.
They relate the following story in their own words: It
was nearing the
holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time,
the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph
arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a
stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout
the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they
listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every
word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small
pieces of
cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper
square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper
was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the
paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares
of flannel [cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing
away as she left Russia], were used for the baby's blanket.
A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought
from the United
States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among
them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one
table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6-years-old and had
finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, was
startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called
for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the
manger.
Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this
completed manger
scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a
young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the
happenings accurately -- until he came to the part where Mary put the
baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his
own ending to the story as he said, "And when Mary laid the baby in
the
manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay.
I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I
don't have any
place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with Him. But I told him
I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give Him like everybody else
did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I
had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept Him
warm, that would be a good gift. "So I asked Jesus, 'If I keep you
warm,
will that be a good enough gift?' And Jesus told me, 'If you keep Me
warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave Me.'
So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me
and He told me I
could stay with Him -- for always." As little Misha finished his
story,
his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks.
Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his
shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found
someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay
with him -- for always!
And the Americans? They had learned the lesson they
had come there to
teach -- that it is not what you have in your life, but WHO you have in
your life that really counts. We all should give thanks for the people
that "keep us warm" in life; and for all of God's many
blessings to us:
freedom from want, life, love, togetherness, and for the enduring love
of Jesus Christ, the one person who keeps us warm and safe for always.
