HEY! Unto you a CHILD is Born!

Growing up there was one book I read every year without fail during Christmas time.  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was a classic in our house.  The Herdman's story of discovering church and being in a play is one of my favorite stories to revisit every year.  

When I got to college I got put on the speech and debate team.  If you have spent any time around me you probably guessed I hated the whole de

bate aspect, but the speech portion was tons of fun.  My Senior year of college my advisor entered me in the dramatic interpretation. Having seen the movie Shag a thousand times I was all about it, as long as there was no "Yankees in terror" speech to be had.  And of course, to push my limits, she entered me in the serious interpretation.  Again, if you have been around me, you know this is NOT my forte.  I searched for a month for the perfect piece to recite, each one feeling so fake as I rehearsed.  About three or four days before our tournament I was going through books in my dorm closet and my favorite book fell out.  I immediately knew this was it.  Of course my advisor HATED my choice, discouraged my edit, and never really sat down to hear the whole story.  

As we entered the regionals room I grew a little nervous, thinking my idea of this being a dramatic piece would not fly with the judges either.  As I entered the stage, all I could think about was how every Christmas the book got a little deeper in my understanding of the Herdman's and their growth in those three weeks of terrorizing their local church.  I got on stage and made my point in the telling of the 200 page book in ten minutes, Herdman voices and all.

By the final round, my advisor was proud of me for picking a story I could relate to, and that I knew I could tell.  The book is told by a girl that always grew up in church, was there about every time the doors were opened, and never knew or had interactions with someone that didn't fit in the family mold... until the Herdman's came.  After that experience, life really made sense.  

I remembered this chapter in my college life because A) It is Christmas time, and of course my old copy of the book is on my coffee table, and B) I recently took a picture of Sophie doing her new favorite role-play-  a pregnant Mary, just like Imogene Herdman.  To me, the picture below screams the angel Glady's only line she delivered without fail-  HEY! Unto you a CHILD is BORN!