Mama, tell me a Christmas Story

Tucking all my little ones into bed.

My favorite time of the day.

  I snuggled in with Princess Brynlee

 who insisted she needed "help going to sleep".  

The room was getting settled down,

 there was a soft glow from a single strand of Chrismas lights draped in the corner.

  A small voice asked, "Mama, tell us a story.  Tell us a Christmas story."

  And then I remembered a story I read when I was a teenager......

...."The story is told of a Danish prince...
                  (now I had their attention).  
He was a very rich prince and lived in a beautiful castle.  He was good and kind to all those in his kingdom.  He had fallen in love with a sweet pheasant girl in his kingdom.  
        (Someone in the room sighed...dreamily.)  

This prince had a problem.  He was afraid if he told this young maiden of his love she would marry him because she wanted his riches and the prestige of being the queen.  Or he was afraid that she would be obligated to marry him because he was so important and she didn't want to anger or refuse him.  The handsome prince didn't want this at all.  He wanted his bride to love him for himself.  

He decided to truly know her heart he would step down from the royal throne.  Take off his regal robes and go to her as a commoner.  The soon-to-be king would present himself before his humble maiden.  He wasn't trying to trick her, but instead he was showing her another side of himself.   He took on the life of a servant to win the young woman's hand.  

This was daring.  What if she wasn't interested in him and sent him away? Then he would lose her forever.  Still she might love him for his true self and choose him above all else.

This is a picture of the choice God gave to mankind...so many years ago.  The babe in the manger cast off his royal robes and came in the form of a baby.  We aren't forced to obey and yield to His will.   Our Lord humbled Himself for us."     


Goodnight, Little Princesses....and Prince,

This story was from an Our Daily Bread devotional journal I read as a teenager, but told from memory to my children.