I Almost Missed A Christmas Miracle

We had always done it. We had always sung carols in the caves.Why? Because once you do it, you're never the same. Aftermy first time, I was never the same. So, I had planned it so thateveryone else could experience it, too. My plans were about tobe fulfilled. We would sing Christmas Carols inside theShepherd's Caves in the hills of Bethlehem.

There was a problem. It was crowded. The year 2000 had boughtmore groups than ever to Israel. The Shepherd's Caves were full!We waited... and waited... No groups were leaving the caves. Ourtime was growing short. We were about to miss out on the chanceto sing Christmas carols in those caves.

I was disappointed. I knew what a blessing our group was about tomiss. I expressed my disappointment to God. "God, we've alwayssung in the caves. No one is ever the same after they do! Wehave to do it, Lord. We've always done it that way. If we don't,our group will miss out on the blessing of Bethlehem. Can't youwork it out to open one of the caves for us?"

None of the other groups left the caves. We didn't get to singcarols in the Shepherd's Caves. Disappointed, I led the group tothe top of the hill - to a small chapel called "The Chapel of theAngels". We would sing there - but I knew it wouldn't been thesame. It couldn't be, because we had always done it only one way.

Once inside the "Chapel of the Angels", we started singing carols.Most of the group had tears in their eyes as we sang "Silent Night".For them, Christmas already had a new meaning.

A MIRACLE - Then, it happened. A group from Germany enteredthe chapel. While we were singing "Silent Night" in English, theystarted singing it in German. Two other groups entered as well.There were now four groups singing Christmas Carols. Every timeI started our group in a song, we were joined by an "InternationalChoir" singing in German, French and Spanish!!! There was not adry eye in the chapel. Everyone called it a "Christmas" miracle.

I almost missed out on that "Christmas Miracle" - me, the "spiritualleader" of the group. Why? Because I was so intent on doing it theway we'd always done it. If we didn't follow the same traditions ofBethlehem that we'd always done, I just knew that we wouldn't beblessed.

What about you? Does God have a special blessing or a miraclefor you this Christmas? If you're so intent on making sure thatyou follow the same traditions, that you do exactly the same thingsthat you always do each Christmas, you may miss out on a specialblessing or a Christmas miracle.

Two thousand years ago, the people of Bethlehem were doing thingsthe way they'd always done them. People were working, shopping,visiting and worshipping. Due to the census, extended familiesfrom far-away places had returned home and were visiting with theirfriends and families - swapping gifts and memories. In the midstof their traditional way of doing things, God preformed the greatestmiracle of all - the birth of his Son, Jesus Christ.

With the exception of some shepherds, the introduction of God's Son almost went unnoticed. Don't miss out on a miracle thisChristmas just because "We've never done it that way before".

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Contributed by David Langerfeld
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