all the baby Jesuses

YBW took me to the annual crèche exhibit at Washington National Cathedral. Why you ask? Well I have a special love for nativities and a woman who works with him is also a docent at the Cathedral. She mentioned this one day and he came home asking if I wanted to go. (Did I?)
My love for this house of worship is as enormous as the building itself so any excuse to spend time there is one I’ll happily take! But to visit the Cathedral to see the crèche exhibit, well that was just like Christmas! (Pun intended, I adore Christmastime.)

We wandered briefly through the nave before going downstairs to the crypt level to see the nativities. That many teeny baby Jesuses all in one place created an unparalleled level of joy within me…interestingly enough, it created an unparalleled level of peace within me too. Even though I was there with my sweetheart, it was an intimate and personal experience for me. I was moved by all the representations of the baby’s birth from all over the world and in all the different media, from wood and resin to coffee root and newspaper.

A few miniatures made specifically for doll houses gave the little girl in me a great big bucktooth grin. My favorite was from Ireland perhaps it somehow tapped into my genetic code, because it certainly wasn’t the most beautiful one.

YBW’s favorite was this elaborate cityscape made in France.

After we looked at and revisited each and every one, we moved on from the nativities to the smaller chapels.  In the Bethlehem Chapel, I lit a candle praying for peace to find my precious Thing 2 and in the Chapel of Joseph of Arimathea for a selfish moment I kneeled in prayer for myself, something I haven’t done in longer than I can even remember…but it felt…right, my spirit was moved and I experienced peace.

It’s been said that the baby Jesus is the light of the world…my world was surely lighted that day.