Evening star., 1959-12-24
Our Christmas Story
By MRS BILLY GRAHAM
As Told to Elizabeth Sheriff.
Chapter 8
THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

N~~eN - SAA NAANN H~A NNS W @@e~N
if we had lived not only at
the very time but had been in
the very town where Jesus
was born!
Let's pretend that we lived
in a little house in Bethlehem
and you and your family were
among the many descendants
Of David who had come to
Bethlehem to be taxed. You
might very we'll have stayed
in our house.
Bethlehem had only one
small inn and that had been
filled by the first travellers
to arrive, so the rest had to
find a place to sleep in the
houses of strangers, or in
stables or wherever there
was room to lie down.
In those days all children
were expected to help with
the work. You boys would
have gone with the men to
the wheat fields outside the
village. And the girls would
have gone with me to fill our
water jars at the public we'll
down the street. We'd have
balanced the big jars on our
heads and stepped out eau
tiously into the narrow,
crowded street.
Strangers Arrive
At last when all the jars
were filled, and the mems
work in the fields was fin-
ished, I think you would
have headed for the gate
where the north road came
into Bethlehem. You would
have climbed up onto the
sun-warmed stone wall and
sat down beside the other
children and the old men to
watch the latest strangers
coming into town.
The afternoon sun was hot
on your back. The wall was
warm. For a minute, your
eyes closed.
When they opened, two
people were coming along the
dusty road down in the val
ley. a man walking and a
woman riding a donkey. But
how slowly these two were
coming. The woman had her
hand on the mans shoulder
and she seemed very weary.
The man kept looking at her
anxiouSly.
Now the man and woman
had reached the hill and you
could see that the donkey
was covered with dust, as If
he had come a long way.
Wonderful Smile
Why were they stopping so
often, now that their trip was
almost over? They stopped
again, right in front of you.
The woman turned to look at
the man and as she did you
saw her face. You saw it
and your heart gave a little
leap.
For on this young wom-
ans face, so pale and travel
weary, was a smile that made
you forget taxes and Roman
soldiers and even Caesar Au-
gustus himself. In hot, noisy,
crowded Bethlehem, her
smile seemed to say that all
the JOY of heaven had come
down to earth.
That night, wrapped up in
your cloak on the crowded
floor of our house, you could
not get to sleep for thinking
of her smile. 1t was an un-
usual thing, these days, to
see a happy face. You Won
dered if the man and woman
had found a place to sleep.
Why was she so happy?
And you. why were you your
self so wide-awake and ex-
cited tonight?
That Special Night
This was a special night.
You didn't know how you
knew it. but you knew that
something wonderful was
about to happen.
1t was very late when you
suddenly jumped up from the
floor. In an instant the
other three children were on
their feet.
There was a commotion
out in the street. You ran
to the door, stepping over
sleeping grownupS wrapped
in their cloaks.
You stared at these men
who were talking so loudly,
in the middle of the night
They looked like country
men. sheepherders. What
was it they were saying?
They had seen an angel!
And the angel had told
them about a Baby born in
Bethlehem and called the
Baby Saviour" and Lord"
They had just seen the Baby
with their own eyes-out in
the stable behind the inn
and they wanted everyone
else to know about it, too.
In the Manger
You didn't wait to hear