A story entitled “For Always” by Will Fish, relates the activities of two teachers working in an orphanage in Russia. One day they were doing an art project with the children. Three small pieces of cardboard were given to each of the 100 children and they were to make a manger. Each child was given a small piece of cloth to make a little baby. As one of the teachers inspected the project he found a little boy finished with the task. As he looked into the little cradle he was startled to see two babies in the manger. When asked to explain why the two babies were in the manger the child began to repeat the story of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in the manger. He began to make up his own ending for the story. “And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mama and I have no papa, so I don’t have a place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a gift to give him…I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I could keep him warm, that would be a good gift. So I asked Jesus, ‘If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?’ And Jesus told me; ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.’ So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him – for always. As Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks…The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon or abuse him, someone who would stay with him-FOR ALWAYS!”
When we sing, “I Surrender All!” we are giving our greatest gift, ourselves, and we can stay with Jesus- FOR ALWAYS!”
James Poitras 