Just What I Always Wanted

My whole married life, I have been yearning for the perfect Nativity Set to bring the spirit of Christmas into our home. I have searched far and wide, high and low, online and in real stores. Yet none was to be found that fit the mold of what I was looking for.

I have a small collection of kid-friendly sets, ones that I don't mind if the kids play with. In fact, I love them rearranging it, playing with Baby Jesus, and creating scenes of Christ, mixed with the occasional action figure or Hot-Wheels car. But I still wanted the grown up set that I could admire and reflect on and enjoy.

About 3 years ago in a catalog, I saw what I wanted. It was simple, it was beautiful, it was perfect. I waited too long to order it that year, and it was sold out. I told myself I'd buy it next year. The next two years came and went, and no nativity.

This year, over Thanksgiving weekend, I promised myself this was the year. I came home, and began the online search (love modern technology!). I found the set at a great price on ebay. The auction was almost over. I quickly logged on, entered a bid, and a moment later, I had won! I was so excited . . . and waited daily for that UPS truck to show up with my winnings.

Yesterday, just as it was getting dark, there was a knock on the door. I opened it up to find a gigantic box. Inside, carefully packaged in 20 individual boxes, lay my nativity. It took me an hour to unpack and unwrap each piece. As I unwrapped each one, I marveled at its beauty and was nearly giddy with anticipation to get it set up and displayed.

When it was all arranged, I started to cry. Though I must admit it's about twice the size of what I was expecting, it is exactly the nativity of my dreams. It was just what I wanted! For me, Christmas is now complete. Unless Santa is reading this, in which case, I've been a very good girl this year, and don't forget to check my list!