GAIL WHITE Year after year, Christmas pageants are miracles

Christmas is a celebration of the miraculous birth of Jesus to the virgin mother, Mary.
The re-enactment of that holy event is performed by churches across the Valley every year. Children dressed up as Mary and Joseph, shepherds and wise men memorize lines and stage directions to portray the Nativity.
After watching the dress rehearsal of the children's Christmas program at our church, I have determined that the miracle of Christmas did not end with the birth of the Holy Child. That miracle lives on every year, at every church that undertakes the task of a Christmas program.
It is truly a miracle that the show ever goes on.
Children's leader
I began to realize the magnitude of the miracle of the children's Christmas program when our leader of children's church called them onto the stage to rehearse their songs. (I believe leaders inclined to conquer the Christmas program have a special anointing from God. They have been given the gift of unquenchable enthusiasm and a certain obliviousness to chaos.)
As the children stood on the stage, the leader wanted to re-arrange them.
"Everybody scootch down," he told the children.
They all stared blankly at him.
"Scoot down," he repeated calmly again.
Still no response registered in these young minds.
With the same patience and enthusiasm as when he asked the first time, this saint began calling each child by name.
"Eric, scoot down, please," he began. Eric scooted.
"Melissa, scoot down," he continued. Melissa scooted.
And so he continued down the line of children until they had all scooted to their proper position.
The rehearsal begins
They began to sing.
I was impressed that every child seemed to know the words. The challenge was that not every child wanted to sing the words.
The boys in the back began pushing one another. Those that weren't pushing looked tortured.
A little girl in the front row twirled her hair. One boy was more interested in bouncing than singing. A cute, chubby boy with big cheeks was making googly eyes at his neighbor.
The little cow stretched out his arms and yawned, then proceeded to pick his nose. An angel stood with her arms folded firmly in front of her.
A mother and her young daughter sang a duet. The child forgot when to sing her lines.
As the performers for the Nativity filed in, the cows and donkey wandered aimlessly. Joseph hadn't made it to the dress rehearsal, and the wise men stood in front of the shepherds.
"The show is tomorrow," I leaned over and whispered to a mother sitting next to me. "How is he going to pull this off?"
Neither one of us could imagine.
Miraculous performance
At the end of the rehearsal, the leader, still enthusiastic, said, "Great dress rehearsal! We're ready for tomorrow."
I didn't think they would be ready for next year's Christmas program, let alone tomorrow!
But the leader knew something that I didn't fully understand. He knew the miracle of Christmas was not confined to the baby in the manger.
I witnessed that Christmas miracle the next evening, when those children walked onto that stage.
They boys in the back row stood still, sang loud and smiled.
The hair twirler in the front row never touched her head. The bouncer still bounced, but he sang too. The cute, chubby boy with the big cheeks sang with all his might.
The cow didn't yawn, and his fingers never touched his nose. The little angel looked absolutely angelic.
The mother and daughter duet made everyone cry, and the Nativity performers acted to perfection.
Those who came to the program were truly blessed. But those who attended the dress rehearsal witnessed a miracle.
gwhite@vindy.com