“Gather ’round, ye children, come
Listen to the old, old story
Of the pow’r of Death undone
By an infant born of glory
Son of God, Son of Man” (Andrew Peterson).

This time marks 4 years in a row that I’ve gone (and 5 total if you include my first time ever back in 2011). It’s one of my favorite Christmas traditions and tonight was a prime example of why.

Hearing the nativity story set to music is always welcome around this time of year. It’s a refreshing reminder of what Christmas is really all about. And no, the story never ever gets old, no matter how many hundreds or thousands of times I’ve heard it over my lifetime.

It’s about the Infinite becoming an infant, God becoming small. It’s about the Lord of all the Universe being born to a peasant couple and having a manger for a bed. The more I think about it, the more it blows my mind that God would do something like that for the likes of you and me.

So God willing, I plan on going back next year and the year after that for as long as I’m able and as long as it’s still a thing. There’s something about hearing the old, old story told again and again that makes me thankful that now it’s my story and I’m a part of His story.