The Glue of the Universe

I was cleaning out a craft closet and found a baggie full of clothespins and tongue depressors.(I guess those are called 'craft sticks' outside of the doctor's office.) I knew suddenly just what I could do with them! I had made a Sculpy clay Holy Family the year before. Asherel, my talented daughter, has made many adorable Sculpy clay animals over the years. I needed a stable for my little creche scene. So, I began to manufacture a stable using the clothespins by clipping them together. I knew it all might be better with hot glue at the joints, but unfortunately, our glue gun had mysteriously disappeared. Probably a casualty of my old Destination Imagination Team.

Not a problem, I thought, the clothespins will hold it all together! I built for about an hour, and then stepped back to survey my work.

With a sudden lurch, the whole thing collapsed. Clothespins went sproinging everywhere. Craft sticks clattered to the floor. The stable imploded into a pile of rubble.

It would not work without glue. I decided I didn't really need a stable, after all. The creche was lovely just as it was. I put away the clothespins and craft sticks. Still, every time I walked by my little Holy Family, I thought how much better my display would look if it had a stable. I drove out to the Christmas store to replace a burnt-out Christmas tree bulb, and moseyed by the creche section. Stables cost $50-$100 and that's without any Holy Family, cow, or even a barn cat.

I went to the store and bought a new glue gun for $4.97.

Then I set to work, piece by piece, building a stable, and securing each piece with hot glue. Little by little, the stable rose from the rubble. First a foundation, then the walls, then the rafters. Then I glued the roof planks. I built a back wall. As each piece was placed, it was glued. When I finished, it was very sturdy. I decided to add gold glitter to the cross atop the stable.

Very happily, I placed the Holy Family in the stable. I had never measured whether they would fit, but they fit perfectly. Then I gathered the little clay animals Asherel had made over the years and placed them around baby Jesus. I found two little Christmas trees she had constructed and decorated, and put them on either side of the stable. My favorite of her creations was a toilet roll/tissue paper cow she had cleverly concocted. He needed a touch of glue repair, but then he also mooooooved into the scene.

The last touch was an electric candle that I placed behind the barn. It lit my little homemade scene up with a glowing light, almost a heavenly light. It was perfect. Just perfect. I could hardly believe how easy it had been, how sturdy the final result when compared with my earlier attempt. What a difference the glue made! And I thought of the verse in the Bible that says through Jesus, "all things hold together." Without Him, it all falls apart. Everything we are and hope to be is completely dependent on Him.

How fitting a verse to reflect upon, I thought, as I gently wrapped the little blanket around my clay model of the Baby who saved the world and holds it all together.

. He looked very snug and warm in the sturdy stable, surrounded by His family and the animals crafted with so much love and care.

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Colossians 1: 13-20
¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.