December 24, 2005

Merry Christmas from Egypt!

Today as we were driving across Cairo we passed shepherds tending their flocks to the side of a busy city street. It was feeding time, and greens were being placed into the animals’ feeding troughs, which led Clayton to announce, “I see a manger!”

Sure enough—there were several. What a treat for us—to casually drive past a manger on Christmas Eve in the Middle East. Seeing the manger in action for its normal, everyday use (dirty sheep and goats chomping from it) was a good reminder of the earthy beginning Jesus had when he came to this world.

I hope that he had fresh greenery like I saw today to lie on, unlike the prickly hay I had always pictured in the past. It also struck me that each manger was empty except for the vegetation being placed in it—but that in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago one special manger would have been about to receive the Son of God, and in that moment be transformed from food trough to king’s cradle.

I crave that transformation in my own life on a daily basis. Won’t you join with me in opening yourself as a ready container, chomped-from at times, but willing nevertheless to let God place Jesus in you?

Christmas blessings from the Ellingtons,

Sherri, Dusty, Clayton, and Christopher

P.S. Just to be clear, it’s not Christmas here for everyone. Most Egyptian Christians celebrate Christmas on January 7, following the calendar of the Eastern church.

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 165