Awkward silence filled the room.

The kids fidgeting, eager to dive into their carefully wrapped packages.

My son had asked that I read the Christmas story before we unwrapped gifts, a tradition we had let lapse in recent years.

As the familiar story unfolded, the ceramic manger scene coming to life, a verse jumped out at me.

After the shepherds departed,

“Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”

How unlike our social media driven society.

She didn’t Instagram photos of the newborn Saviour.

The late night angel visits and welcoming throng of shepherds did not go viral on Facebook.

I felt a twinge of guilt in this revelation moment;

You see, I wrote a beautiful post for you earlier this week. I shared stories from my life that brought tears to my eyes as I typed them out. I wanted to assure you that gifts of time were more valuable than those bought at the mall.

When I hit the button to publish it, an “error” occurred.

My beautiful story, that I wrote from my heart was lost in cyberspace. But I had missed the point, it was my story, not yours.

We know the greatest gift is in the fact that God sent His only Son to come down to earth and reconcile us to Him!

His desire hasn’t changed since the shepherds departed that stable 2000 years ago,

Each one of us has a story that He is writing with us.

It is our unique story!

And those precious moments don’t always have to be shared with all the world.

Sometimes we need to take a lesson from Mary;

Ponder those things in our heart.

What memory do you have that brings a tear to your eye?

What person do you cherish spending time with?

Who brings you great joy with their unexpected visit?

As your story unfolds this upcoming year, remember that some of the moments written by you and God, were not meant to be shared.

As amazing as they seem to be at the time.

Cherish conversations with close friends.

Celebrate accomplished goals in your journal.

And most of all acknowledge the greatest gift, the author of the greatest story ever told, as you enjoy these great moments and ponder them all in your heart.

And I promise to do the same.

Love,

Pazazdance