When the Menu is Manna

                                                                                           We had been driving for hours. Finally, in the distance, we could see the long-awaited exit ahead that would lead us to a few hours of blissful sleep. With a one-month-old in tow, I was so relieved. We had reached our destination, or so we thought, only to be nosed to nose with a detour sign at our planned exit. My spirit sank as we began the drive down the winding road, moving farther and farther away from the hotel we had almost reached, until it resembled a tiny dot in the distance. What was intended to be a short interruption in our travel route turned into a two-hour ordeal! We circled the city, confused by the major construction in the darkness and the lack of a cle...

  I t was a small, painted ceramic nativity scene. Purchased at the local drugstore for less than $10.00, around 25 years ago, I needed something tangible and visual to teach my girls the truth of the Nativity. Year after year, the figurines found their place on our living room coffee table. Due to much loving and handling during play, we had a few casualties. Joseph was the first to go when, somehow, he lost his head. This alteration of his appearance didn't do the story justice. A headless Joseph in the scene was a little too creepy and brought about questions I wasn't quite ready to address with two preschoolers. His passing was followed by a malfunction with the manger, which held the Christ Child nuzzled inside under the pure white ceramic swaddling clothes. One drop on the hardwood floors, and this member of the Nativity was now two pieces. Okay, I reasoned, the shepherd might be able to double as Joseph, but no manger, no Christ Child? Clearly, I would have to mend t...