I starred in my first school performance at the tender age of three. Our class sang nursery rhymes, with each child dressed as a different character. I was Little Bopeep, complete with mop-cap and bloomers, and I chastised the audience for applauding too soon. We hadn’t finished yet! I’m glad I barely remember my embarrassing acting debut, but I recall the wonder of standing on-stage under a spotlight, staring into the blackness, and realising my mother was somewhere out there watching my every move.
In later years, I acted as an astronaut in a play about a group of schoolchildren and their headmaster building a spaceship and blasting off to search for Jupiter rock. I was half a castle in the story of Cinderella, and a munchkin in the Wizard of Ozz. However, my favourite plays were the nativities because this is what Christmas is all about. I embraced the roll of Mary, tenderly singing to my baby doll while rocking her lovingly in my arms.
More recently, I’ve had the pleasure of watching my cousin’s children performing a play about a clumsy angel who felt despondent about her abilities until she was chosen to show the way to Bethlehem. I still love nativities, and it saddens me when schools overlook them because of political correctness. After all, if it weren’t for the birth of Christ, we wouldn’t have Christmas.
Prayer
Lord, we pray for children all over the world as they re-enact the story of your birth. May they realise this is truth, not fiction. WE also pray for schools, that they will embrace Biblical teaching, especially at this time of year.
Song: It was on a Starry night
Scriptures to Ponder
Matthew 19: 14: “But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Proverbs 22: 6: “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”