where's the God stuff?

Our neighbor Lynn has a large collection of Christmas decorations that she's acquired over a number of years. She's retired now and can take her time with the decorating process, finishing one area before moving on to the next.

Recently Lynn's grandson came over for a visit. Lynn was busy in the kitchen and Conner amused himself by checking out her decorations. Pretty soon Lynn noticed that Conner was going from room to room, his demeanor becoming more and more anxious.

"What's wrong?" Lynn asked.

Her grandson moved his legs and planted them in a defiant stance, formed his hands into fists and placed them firmly on his hips.

"Grandma, where's the God stuff?" he asked with a worried scowl on his face.

"The God stuff? What do mean the God stuff?" answered Lynn.

"You know, the animals and the baby."

"Oh, the nativity set! Sorry Conner, I just haven't had the time to put it together yet."

Let's not forget the God stuff, if we're people of faith. With the late summer flood and resulting reconstruction our Christmas display has been mostly non-existent. All the decorations are trapped behind a mountain of building supplies.

But late last night in my sleep and answer came to me, as it often does. The God stuff is NOT in the crawl space. In a moment of organizational frenzy I'd wrapped our nativity in swadling newspapers and stored it in a clear plastic container on the shelf in my bedroom closet.

Christmas success! The farmer picked up a last minute Christmas tree and I found the God stuff! Not just any God stuff mind you, but Amerindian cross-cultural God stuff purchased from a lean-to vendor's shelter just outside the Mayan temple in Tulum. All is well in the Corn Palace and Christmas can now begin.

Christmas comes to the prairie tomorrow. Be sure to visit because there's always something interesting happening around here. We'll see if the farmer buys himself a Christmas gift again this year!