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What the Nativity was really like

 Good essay from CT. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/12/filthy-night-fetid-night-nativity-scene-sheep-incarnation/

This piece reminds me of our addiction to photo perfectionism. We have been duped by all these images, moving and still, that the world is supposed to look a certain way. Who decides. I look at my dining room table right now. It is the hub of the house's activity, as I think it is for many families. 

At one end are my Christmas and birthday cards, to remind me of friends. There is a pile of mail to attend to, most of which will be recycled. There is a vase of flowers my son and his wife gave me for my birthday--they are going on two weeks old but still have some attraction. There is a centerpiece with the advent candle surrounded by "synthetic eucalyptus" on a slice of wood. I suppose it is time to cull the flowers, remove the candles, and pack up the cards. There are salt and pepper and a sugar bowl, a jar of celery salt, some books, two candles I made, six Christmas placemats on a white table cloth, and some odds and ends. Nothing matches, but I like them all. They all mean something to me. 

Like my Aura Frame (I recommend them!) randomness reigns, but each item and each image is a story, a memory, a laugh, someone I miss, a place I went, and there is no order. Sure, I'll clean off the table, and it will deteriorate into chaos again in a few days. The world falls toward decay and corruption and we were given the mandate to care for it, to bring it back into order through hard work and tools.  

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