Hear the Christmas Story . . .

I have been to so many Christmas services and heard this story so many times in the past 19 years of my life. It's so easy to hear the story again and again, but there seems to a point where I stop listening. With multiple Christmas Eve services over the past five years, many coral services, multiple pageants, reading the passages, listening to the music, seeing all the nativity scenes it's easy to stop seeing the wonder in this incredible story.
The last time I felt really connected to the nativity story was when I was 14 years old. I was Mary and my best friend was Joseph at 16. That was the last time I had to be involved although Jim is still getting sucked into pageants at 21. He did make a really nice shepherd this morning, although not quite as good as when he was a sheep! As Mary that Christmas though, it was special to me. Mary would have been about that age when an angel appeared to her, telling her she was going to have a child. I would have had a heart attack if anything similar had happened to me. I still probably would now too even though I'm five years older and wiser. For any teenager to have the amount of courage that Mary did that first Christmas long ago is amazing and not something that I could emulate.
Since then I haven't really heard or listened to what is said at all the services. This year though, I think I need to try again. To hear the story in a new way with all the drama and mystery that really surrounds it. I need to hear the word of God in this magical Christmas tale.