Mila and the Missing Baby Jesuses
By Sarah Meade
Word Count: 250
When we give Grandma the Nativity, her eyes shine.
I wish she’d smile, instead of crying. Grandpa always gave her a Nativity set.
But this is our first Christmas without Grandpa.
Evan and I place the pieces.
“Ready to bake cookies?” asks Mom.
I nod. Evan stays with Grandma.
I mix. Mom rolls out dough. I grab cookie cutters.
“Mila?” calls Grandma.
I go see.
“Something’s missing,” Grandma murmurs. Her hands squeeze together.
“Show me, Grandma.” I take her hand.
“Look.” She points at the new Nativity.
It’s beautiful. The shepherds, three wise men, Joseph, Mary, and of course– wait.
“Where’s Baby Jesus?” I ask.
Grandma shakes her head. A tear runs down her cheek. My heart pinches.
That’s when I notice the other sets are missing something, too.
Someone.
“Have you seen the baby Jesuses?”
“No,” Mom says.
It must have been my brother.
“Evan!” I call down the hall.
He’s kneeling by Grandma’s bed, surrounded by baby Jesuses, and he’s…
praying.
“Evan?” I say.
He sniffles. “Grandma forgot her Nativity stories. And our snowman and Grandpa, and…”
I kneel down and take his hand.
We pray together.
“Maybe we can help Grandma remember,” I say.
We place all the baby Jesuses back in their mangers.
I find the photo album.
Grandma opens it. I talk about last Christmas and how Grandpa used up all the sprinkles on his Christmas cookies. Evan shares the snowman story.
“He always gave me a new Nativity set,” whispers Grandma.
And she smiles.
This story was inspired by my children taking the Baby Jesus from our Nativity sets, as well as my many happy holiday memories of my grandparents, whom I miss dearly.
Thank you for reading!
Heartfelt story, Sarah!
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Kim! Your feedback is always invaluable.
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It came out so good Sarah. Made me teary eyed. Sweet nod to your children and grandparents.
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Thank you so much for all your help with it, Ashley!
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I love this story, Sarah! Good luck!!
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Thank you so much, Dedra!
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This made me teary-eyed, Sarah. I love it. So much emotion, so well done, and so full of love ❤
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Thank you SO MUCH, Nicole. 🙂
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Beautiful—so much emotion! What a gift to families grieving at Christmas.
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Thank you, Kelsey!
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So full of emotion and lovely visual writing.
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Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Katie! I appreciate it.
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Aww. This is so heartfelt Sarah. I love the scene of the children by Grandpa’s bed, ❤
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Thank you so much, Colleen.
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This is such a touching story, Sarah. And then your photo at the end just made me laugh out loud! You’re right, many a baby Jesus have gone missing from mangers all over the world. 🙂
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Thank you so much, Bonnie! Yes, we finally found the baby this morning. 🙂
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Wow, Sarah, you really tugged at my heart with this one! I love the tender way the children help Grandma remember. Fabulous!
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Thank you, Jill.
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Love this story, Sarah! Yes, we’ve also had many a Baby Jesus taken by little hands. (The sheep were also popular for some of the kids. Just the right size for little hands!)
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Thank you, Maria! Your comment made me smile. 🙂
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Beautiful story and a wonderful tradition 😁
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Thank you so much, Lydia.
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That’s so tender 🙂
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Thank you for reading, Rachel!
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What a sweet story!
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Thank you for reading and commenting, Michelle!
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Touching and precious! Made me teary. Such a sweet story.
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Thank you so much, Amy! I appreciate your kind words.
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Such a sweet story, Sarah. I have a little inside joke with my in-laws, where I steal the baby Jesus out of their nativity and hide it somewhere for them to find during our visit each year. I guess I’m still a kid at heart! 😀
Good luck!
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Thank you so much, Brenda! I love that. Thank you for sharing it with me. 🙂
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