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A dear friend has reminded me to thank God each day for whatever
surprises He will bring into my life and indeed, each day, there are all kinds
of surprises. Some of them wonderful, some of them challenging, but every one of
them meant to mold me and conform me into the likeness of Christ.
This year our women’s ministry director, Cherie, stationed me in a new area
as a greeter at Bethlehem. In previous years I’ve manned the doors entering the
pre-show but this year I was assigned to stand in the colonnade and direct
everyone into “the City”. I stood in front of a table where there was placed a
Donation box and a Prayer request box. One to meet the needs of the
ministry, the other to make known needs to the Father.
Buses picked up the Bethlehem visitors from their parking places at the
Tournament Players Club, two miles from the church, and delivered them to the
church continuously each of the three nights of the production from 6:30 until
8:30.
As they disembarked the buses, they were greeted by the music of carolers
in the lobby before being ushered into the sanctuary for a six minute pre-show.
The pre-show included music by Storyside B and a slide-show of Christmas
pictures shown on the three large screens in the front of the sanctuary.
Following the pre-show, the doors were opened to the colonnade where I would
greet the families and point them to the path that lead to the city of
Bethlehem. More than ten thousand people would come through on this night alone,
bringing the total to 25,000 for all three nights of the production.
There were Asian, white, black, Hispanic, young, and old. I smiled and
greeted each one, enjoying the sparkle in the eyes of the children and noting
the anxiousness in the eyes of some adults and the peacefulness and joy in the
eyes of others. A group passed by singing Silent Night in a language unknown to
me and I thought, how like Heaven this was, when every nation, tongue and tribe
would come together to worship God.
Interestingly, I observed that it was those appearing least likely to make
a donation that were the very ones who would reach deep into their pockets and
slide their bills into the donation box. Of course, it was the children who
enjoyed putting the money into the box most of all. They would carefully drop
their coins or bills into the box and look back to ask parents if they could
give more.
I had been greeting for about 45 minutes when a little girl about three or
four years old skipped out of the doors of the sanctuary, curls bouncing all
over her head and holding tightly onto her daddy’s hand. As she approached me, I
leaned down to wish her a Merry Christmas. She wrapped her hand around my
fingers and exclaimed, “I’m going to see baby Jesus!” Her mother, wearing a
knitted cap and warm coat, slipped around behind me to the table to fill out a
prayer request form. I continued welcoming the visitors while she spent
several minutes filling out the form. Her husband stood beside me still holding
his tiny daughter by the hand. I turned to him and said, “I want you to know
that we pray for each of these requests, and we will certainly be praying for
her request.” His sad eyes fixed on mine and he said, “thank you so much,
because you see, my father has colon cancer and my wife has just been diagnosed
with brain cancer…we’re here to make memories for her.” I looked down at the
excited little blond haired girl and at the young woman still writing out her
prayer request. My eyes began to burn and my throat tightened. I took his
arm and said, “I promise I will pray”. He gave me a warm smile and thanked me
then lovingly took his wife’s elbow as she moved away from the table and led her
toward Bethlehem while their daughter laughed and skipped alongside them.
As I waited for the next group to come through, I opened the box of
prayer requests to read some of them. Many were requests for healing from
cancer for themselves or for a loved one. Others asked to pray to find a job
because they had been laid off. Some prayed that they would be able to make the
payments they owed. Some wrote they did not know how they would put food on the
table for their families in the New Year. Each request was more heart breaking
than the next. I stopped reading as the doors opened from the sanctuary again
and the next group came out.
At about 7:30, two fire and rescue trucks came from Palm Valley, with
sirens on, they turned into the church drive and down to the lot that lead to
the “city”. We had to stop the crowds from continuing down the path while the
paramedics took care of the situation. While we waited, some of the people
filled out prayer requests while others talked and laughed with one
another. I thanked them for their patience, but everyone remained relaxed and
joyful. One of the volunteers reported that a pregnant woman’s water had broken
and another woman had fainted. Several people joked that the pregnant woman
might be able to say that she also had a baby born in Bethlehem!
After almost twenty minutes, fire rescue drove away and the crowds once
again began moving down the path towards the city. Everyone smiling and joyous
and treating one another like family. No one had become anxious or angry while
they waited, no one had grumbled….it wasn’t at all what usually happens when
delays occur.
After the last of the busloads left the sanctuary, I walked to the exit of the city to help Jennifer thank everyone for coming and to help direct them back to the buses. We had already run out of the New Testament Bibles that we give to each family. It was evident that the Bethlehem experience had been meaningful to each person. As they passed by, they would joyfully thank us, hug us, or smile with eyes filled with tears.
We thanked them for coming and wished them a Merry Christmas. A group of
women stopped to fill out the prayer requests. An African American woman
lingered near the table with her back to me. I walked over to her and rested my
hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at me, her eyes filled with tears. I
held her in my arms and prayed in her ear. We held each other and although I
didn’t know her needs, I reminded her of His perfect love and told her that she
was going to be all right. We held each other tightly again before she left.
I watched as the last group rounded the corner of the building to climb
onto the bus to return to their cars. The Bethlehem cast were beginning to come
out of the city now and crews began to remove the rope barriers and take down
scenery. I stood still, reflecting on all I had been privileged to see and feel
this night. I had watched throngs of people make their way to the city of David
to behold the Christ child. I had heard laughter and joy and I had seen
hurting, suffering brothers and sisters holding on to the hope of Christ.
I had held and prayed with sisters and brothers I had never met before, but whom
I now felt so connected to.
I could almost hear the Holy Spirit whispering in my ear, “do you see what I see?” Tonight, He had allowed me a glimpse of what He sees… except that I was seeing through the blur of my own sin-stained eyes.
God had said, “come where I am, see what I see and open your spiritual eyes to the needs around you and then participate with Me to love them.” ‘Open your heart, open your arms, open your boundaries.”
As the last person disappeared, I realized how much I wished this night would not end…that I could touch and hold, comfort and pray with sisters and brothers I did not yet know. For, in the city of David there had been born a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord…and for me tonight, I had experienced the gift of His love anew.
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