I’m sitting at the kitchen table with a one-eared camel. He is guarded by three wisemen, two whom were once beheaded and have been re-glued. The shepherd has lost his feet and the angel looks battle-weary. The donkey and cow’s chipped edges have been filled in with marker. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus are in the center, and only they remain whole.
It is the first week of Advent and my heart is vulnerable. We said good-bye to our precious dog a few days back—the dog who helped raised our little boys to be tender-hearted and responsible young men. I’m reflecting back on a year of aches, both heart and body, our own and those of others.
And I’m identifying with the fragile nativity before me.
We have a son who is a freshman in college in another state.