Hi, all. Just a thought to help start your weekend.

Have you decorated your home for the Christmas season yet? If so, you may have included, as we have, some nativity scenes. Through the years I have collected many sets. Each year I struggle to decide which favorites to display for that season. In my picture this week, you see one that I have propped on the piano in our front room. On a simple painted board are attached three shells that have been painted to resemble Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus.

This one is very simple, yet very beautiful to me. It shines. And it’s a real picture of the true meaning for the season. I purchased this particular homemade nativity from a display at a craft show of sorts last year. The hands that made it were the same hands that sold it to me.

It’s just three shells, not unlike some you might find scavenging on the beach somewhere. Those three simple shells are painted in simple plain colors. Then they are attached to the board with some strong glue. A gold star is then painted above them. So simple.

The Christmas story is just as simple. Jesus, born of the virgin Mary who was engaged to be married to Joseph, was born under no fanfare. The inn was full. The only place for them to bed down for the night was on the stable floor. Then the Christ-Child was laid in a feeding trough. No cheering. No big blue “It’s A Boy!” wreath to hang on the stable door. No baby shower. No gifts of diapers or any of those necessities. Just Mom, Dad, and that glorious Baby in a barn.

That Baby came to this world to offer us each a very simple gift — the gift of salvation. He grew, He taught, He lived, and then He died a cruel death on a cross, shedding His blood for our sins so that we might know what true love really is. It’s that simple.

A craftsman saw something in those simple shells. The Great Craftsman sees something in your simple self. You are His masterpiece. It’s that simple. He looks at you and sees something worth saving. How do you see Him? Look for Him in the simple things this Christmas season.

Just a thought. ’Til later.

Brad Campbell can be reached at mastah.pastah@yahoo.com.