Empty.
All wisdom is summed up in two words, wait and hope. –Emily Dickinson There it sat…tucked away in the corner as I folded and refolded shepherds’ robes and angel wings. The cold stung my hands just enough to remind me that Christmas was around the corner. The hustle and bustle kept me warm as the beautiful holiday songs kept sweet melodies in my head. I can still hear them now. And perhaps in all of that madness, the madness of a holiday no one seems to have enough time to prepare for, it could have been lost. Between the turn up the heater, and pour the hot chocolate, and address one more card, I could have missed it. But there it sat, humble, and almost hidden from the world. And, in between delivering ornaments, and putting on pageants, I saw it. It caught my eye, not for the fullness, or the promise, or the glory of the king it held. The manger caught my eye, and took my breath, because for the first time all season, I saw it was empty. The brown wood, carefully construct